Ap Comp. Govt. Terms From Chapter 3

Front 1

ethnic identity

Back 1

cultural and social characteristics that distinguish one nation from another — especially in the minds of the members of the ethnic group

Front 2

national identity

Back 2

an institution that binds people together through a common set of political aspirations, among which the most important is self-government.

Front 3

nation

Back 3

a group of people who identify themselves as belonging together because of cultural, geographic, or linguistic ties

Front 4

nationalism

Back 4

aspirations for state independence and sovereignty; devotion to the interests of one’s culture, nation, or state; belief in the superiority of one’s culture, nation, or state

Front 5

nation-state

Back 5

a territorial unit controlled by a single state and governed by a single government

Front 6

citizenship

Back 6

an individual's or a group's relationship to the state; those who are citizens swear allegiance to that state, and that state in return is obligated to provide rights to those individuals or the members of that group.

Front 7

patriotism

Back 7

pride in one's state; people are patriotic when they have pride in their political system and seek to defend and promote it.

Front 8

ethnic conflict

Back 8

when different ethnic groups struggle to achieve certain political or economic goals at each other's expense.

Front 9

national conflict

Back 9

when one or more groups do develop clear aspirations for sovereignty, clashing with others as a result.

Front 10

political attitudes

Back 10

Describe views regarding the necessary pace and scope of change between freedom and equality. These are typically broken up into the categories of radical, liberal, conservative, and reactionary.

Front 11

radical political attitude

Back 11

believes in dramatic, often revolutionary change of the existing political, social, or economic order. Believes that the current system is broken and will only be improved when the entire political structure has been fundamentally transformed.

Front 12

liberal political attitude

Back 12

believe that progressive change can happen through changes within the system; it does not require an overthrow of the system itself.

Front 13

conservative political attitude

Back 13

they question whether any significant or profound change in existing institutions is necessary. Should too much change take place, the very legitimacy of the system might be undermines, destroying the basic values and norms that hold society together. Change will simply replace one set of problems with others, possible worse ones.

Front 14

reactionary political attitude

Back 14

seek to restore political, social, and economic institutions that once existed. Restoration of older values, a change back to a previous regime or state that they believe was superior to the current order.

Front 15

moderate (pragmatic) political attitude

Back 15

dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Front 16

political ideology

Back 16

sets of political values held by individuals regarding the fundamental goals of politics. They are concerned with the ideal relationship between freedom and equality for all individuals and the proper role of political institutions in achieving or maintaining this relationship.

Front 17

liberalism

Back 17

ideology that favors a limited role of the state in people’s lives and emphasizes individual freedoms

Front 18

communism

Back 18

ideology that rejects the idea that personal freedom will ensure prosperity for the majority. To eliminate exploitation, it advocates that the state control all economic resources in order to produce true economic equality for the community as a whole.

Front 19

social democracy

Back 19

a political philosophy centered on electoral politics, egalitarian social policies, and the creation of social welfare systems

Front 20

fascism

Back 20

ideology that favors a collective approach to human organization, rejects notion of equality; it rests on the idea that people and groups can be classified in terms of inferiority and superiority.

Front 21

anarchism

Back 21

ideology that rejects the notion of the state altogether. Believe that private property leads to inequality but opposed to the idea that the state can solve this problem.

Front 22

fundamentalism

Back 22

ideology that seeks to unite religion with the state, or rather, to make faith the sovereign authority.

Front 23

liberal-democracy

Back 23

form of representative democracy where elected representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in society

Front 24

theocracy

Back 24

a combined religious and political ruler

Front 25

political culture

Back 25

the collection of history, values, beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, traditions, and symbols that define and influence political behavior within a nation- state