Ap Gov: Chapter 1

Front 1

government

Back 1

the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society

Front 2

public goods

Back 2

goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share

Front 3

political participation

Back 3

all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. Voting is the most common but not the only means of political participation in a democracy. Other means include protest and civil disobedience

Front 4

single-issue group

Back 4

groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. These features distinguish them from traditional interest groups.

Front 5

policymaking system

Back 5

the process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time. People’s interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policymakers. These issues shape policy, which in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems, and concerns.

Front 6

linkage institutions

Back 6

the political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Front 7

policy agenda

Back 7

the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time.

Front 8

political issue

Back 8

an issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it

Front 9

policymaking institutions

Back 9

the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. The U.S. Constitution established three policymaking institutions—the congress, the presidency, and the courts. Today, the power of the bureaucracy is so great that most political scientists consider it a fourth policymaking institution.

Front 10

public policy

Back 10

a choice the government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem.

Front 11

democracy

Back 11

a system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences.

Front 12

majority rule

Back 12

a fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority’s desire be respected.

Front 13

minority rights

Back 13

a principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities and allows that they might join majorities through persuasion and reasoned argument.

Front 14

representation

Back 14

a basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.

Front 15

elite and class theory

Back 15

a theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.

Front 16

hyperpluralism

Back 16

a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. Hyperpluralism is an extreme, exaggerated, or perverted form of pluralism.

Front 17

policy gridlock

Back 17

a condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. The result is that nothing may get done.

Front 18

political culture

Back 18

an overall set of values widely shared within a society.

Front 19

gross domestic product

Back 19

the sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation.