Government Ch.1

Front 1

state

Back 1

a political community that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with the power to make and enforce laws without approval from higher authority

Front 2

nation

Back 2

any sizable group of people who are united by common bonds of language, custom, (sometimes) religion and race.

Front 3

nation-state

Back 3

a country in which the territory of both the nation and state coincide

Front 4

consensus

Back 4

agreement of basic beliefs

Front 5

sovereignty

Back 5

the state has supreme and absolute authority within its territorial boundaries. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither dependent on nor subject to any other power or state.

Front 6

government

Back 6

the institution through which the state maintains social order, provides public services, and enforces decisions that are binding on all people living within the states

Front 7

social contract

Back 7

theory that by contract, people surrender to the state the power needed to maintain order and the state, in turn, agrees to protect its citizens.

Front 8

Aristotle

Back 8

first political science thinker

Front 9

Thomas Hobbes

Back 9

one of the first to theorize on the Social contract

Front 10

John Locke

Back 10

believed in the social contract

Front 11

unitary system

Back 11

gives all power to the national or central government

Front 12

federal system

Back 12

divides the powers of gov't between the national government and state or provincial gov't

Front 13

confederacy

Back 13

a loose union of independent states (an alliance) ex. canada, switzerland

Front 14

constitution

Back 14

a plan that provides the rules for gov't

Front 15

constitutional government

Back 15

a gov't in which a constitution has authority to place clearly recognized limits on the powers of those who govern (limited gov't)

Front 16

preamble

Back 16

a statement that sets forth the goals and purposes to be served by the government

Front 17

constitutional law

Back 17

involves the interpretation and application of the constitution

Front 18

Politics

Back 18

the effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government

Front 19

industrialized nations

Back 19

have generally large industries and advanced technology that provide a more comfortable way of life then developing nations do

Front 20

Brevity

Back 20

Flexibility

Front 21

autocracy

Back 21

any system of government in which the power and authority to rule are in the hands of a single individual

Front 22

monarchy

Back 22

a king, queen, or emperor exercises the supreme powers of government

Front 23

ogligarchy

Back 23

any system of government in which a small group has power

Front 24

democracy

Back 24

any system of government in which rule is by the people

Front 25

republic

Back 25

voters are the source of the government authority

Front 26

political party

Back 26

a group of people with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, with elections, conduct government, and determine public policy

Front 27

free enterprise

Back 27

: freedom of private business to organize and operate for profit in a competitive system without interference by government beyond regulation necessary to protect public interest and keep the national economy in balance

Front 28

capitalism

Back 28

an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

Front 29

economics

Back 29

the study of human efforts to satisfy seemingly unlimited wants through the use of limited resources

Front 30

free market

Back 30

a situation in which the government placed no limits on the freedom of buyers and sellers to make economic decisions