Vocab Flashcards
the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society
government
a system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences
democracy
a democracy in which citizens themselves vote on all laws and create policies for their country
direct democracy
citizens elect officials to make laws and these representatives are accountable to those who they govern
representative democracy
the citizens elect the legislature and the legislature elects the executive
parliamentary democracy
the citizens elect the legislative and executive branches
presidential democracy
a system of government that views individual freedom as subordinate to the powers and authorities of the state
authoritarian
a single individual retains all of the power in a country
dictatorship
the supreme power in government is lodged in the hands of a king, queen, or emporor
monarchy
a small group of people control the government
oligarchy
a form of government where the national government holds most of the power
unitary
a government in which state and local governments hold most of the power
confederate
the government’s power is divided and/or shared between national and local government
federal
the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue; produces authoritative decisions about public issues
politics
the party’s opinion on various public policy issues; written every four years at the national convention
party platform
the issues that attract the serious attention of people involved in politics
policy agenda
the process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time
policymaking system
political channels through which people’s interests, problems, and concerns become political issues on the policy agenda
linkage institutions
ex. political parties, elections, media, interest groups
an overall set of values widely shared within a society
political culture
a problem that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it
political issue
all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of leaders or the policies they pursue
political participation
groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics
single-issue groups
things, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share
public goods
a choice that government makes in response to a political issue
public policy