Ch1 Foundations Of Government

Front 1

government

Back 1

formal structures & institutions through which a territory & its people are ruled

Front 2

power

Back 2

government's authority to make & enforce policies & laws

Front 3

policy

Back 3

any decision made by a government in pursuit of a particular goal

Front 4

state

Back 4

political unit made up by a group of people that lives within a clearly defined territory

Front 5

sovereignty

Back 5

ultimate, supreme power in a state; rests within the people

Front 6

politics

Back 6

process by which government makes & carries out decisions

Front 7

legitimacy

Back 7

the condition of being seen as right & proper

Front 8

divine right of kings

Back 8

the theory that a monarch rules by the sanction, or approval, of God

Front 9

social contract theory

Back 9

theory of society in which government is a contract between a government & the governed to provide protection & support for the people

Front 10

monarchy

Back 10

form of government in which political power is exercised by a single ruler, such as a king or queen, who exercises absolute authority under the claim of the divine or hereditary right

Front 11

dictatorship

Back 11

system of rule in which one person, or small group of people, can hold unlimited power over government, which is usually controlled by force

Front 12

oligarchy

Back 12

rule by a few small groups of people, usually members of the military or economic elite

Front 13

direct democracy

Back 13

form of government in which citizens meet regularly in a popular assembly to discuss issues of the day, pass laws and vote for leaders

Front 14

republic

Back 14

indirect form of democracy in which people elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf

Front 15

unitary system

Back 15

form of government in which all authority is vested in a central government from which regional and local governments derive their power

Front 16

federal system

Back 16

form of organization in which power is divided among a central government & territorial subdivisions; shared between national, state & local governments

Front 17

confederal system

Back 17

alliance of independent states manifesting a degree of national unity through a central government of united powers; U.S. under the Articles of Confederation

Front 18

presidential system

Back 18

form of government headed by a president who is elected by the people for a limited term of office & whose powers are balanced by an elected legislature

Front 19

parliamentary system

Back 19

form of government in which the chief executive is the leader whose party holds the most seats in the legislature after an election or whose party forms a major part of the ruling coalition

Front 20

ideal

Back 20

conception of something in its most perfect form

Front 21

liberty

Back 21

the ability of people to act & think as they choose, so long as their choices do no harm to the well being of others

Front 22

equality

Back 22

the principle that all people possess a fundamental, moral worth that entitles them to fair treatment under law & equal opportunity in all aspects of life - political, social, economic

Front 23

self-government

Back 23

belief that ordinary people could aspire to rule themselves & do so as political equals

Front 24

majority rule

Back 24

basic principle of democracy that decisions are made by a majority, getting more than half of the votes

Front 25

minority rights

Back 25

political rights held by groups that make up less than half of the population

Front 26

liberal democracy

Back 26

form of democracy that protects rights of the minority

Front 27

free enterprise

Back 27

economic system in which individuals & businesses are free to engage in economic activity with a minimum of government interference