Unit 1 Foundations Flashcards
What is the difference between an absolute monarchy and a constitutional monarchy?
Absolute monarchies place no limits on a monarch’s power while constitutional monarchies place substantial constitutional limits on a monarch’s power.
Define Oligarchy
An oligarchy is a type of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of only a few people. Aristocracy (rule by the elite) is a type of oligarchy.
What is the difference between a direct democracy and representative democracy?
In a direct democracy all citizens meet together and make decisions via a vote.
In a representative democracy citizens elect leaders who make decisions on their behalf.
In political science, what is elite theory?
The economic elite holds the most power, exercises this power through policy planning, and does so regardless of the electoral process.
What is the traditional theory regarding how democracy derives its authority?
All types, including democracies, derive their power from the consent of the governed.
An autocratic government in which power is held by a leader, who is unrestricted by constitutional limits or social or political powers within a state, is known as a ______.
dictatorship
A Roman dictator was usually given absolute power in times of national emergency to carry out a specific task and then expected to return his power to the state. The term stems from this Roman concept. Julius Caesar did not give power back to the Republic, was killed for it , but the led to the establishment of the Roman emperors.
Define Anarchy
Anarchy is the absence of any Governmental Authority.
What influence did the Greeks and Romans have on the eventual development of American democracy?
Many Greek city-states and the Roman Republic were seen as models for the Founding Fathers, especially those societies’ use of democratic government and representative democracy.
How does hyperpluralism differ from pluralism?
Pluralism claims that competing factions negotiate and compromise, eventually reaching agreement. Hyperpluralism asserts that competing factions pull the government in different directions, resulting in gridlock and a lack of progress on substantive issues.
In political science, what is pluralism?
Pluralism holds that when different interests compete, they conflict and are forced to negotiate and compromise.
In Federalist No.10, James Madison asserts that pluralism would offset factions; the competing factions would prevent one faction from becoming dominant.
What was the Mayflower Compact?
The Mayflower Compact established Plymouth Bay’s colonial government and was based upon the consent of the governed and limitations on governmental authority.
According to political scientist Max Weber’s theories, who holds power in the modern state?
Most political power is given to bureaucrats that are not elected; these bureaucrats handle much of the daily function of government.
Although Weber felt bureaucracy was a threat to individual freedom, he also thought it was an efficient form of societal organization.
What was the Magna Carta?
Signed in 1215, the Magna Carta forced King John of England to recognize limits on his arbitrary authority. The Magna Carta granted certain rights to the English nobility, such as a right to trial by jury and due process before the taking of life, liberty, or property. It was foundational to the idea of popular socereignty.
In political theory, what is the social contract?
The social contract states that individuals consent to the transfer of some of their freedoms to the government. In exchange, the government protects their remaining rights.
John Locke, who wrote about the social contract, argued that it was acceptable to overthrow a government that infringed on these remaining rights, which included life, liberty, and property.
What was the Stamp Act (1765)?
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament and required the colonists to purchase a stamp for any official document and for newspapers, with the purpose of raising funds to pay off debts incurred by the French and Indian War. Colonists believed that they should have been consulted and have had the right to approve any taxes.
