Politics Test 3 Study Guide

Front 1

Why free press in constitution

Back 1

freedom of press is fundamental to free society and check on power of government ;; news media provide an accessible, inexpensive, communal, and reliable source of information to form agreement reality about politics and government.

Front 2

What 1st amendment covers

Back 2

freedom of religion, press & expression

Front 3

Relationship between speech and power

Back 3

speech + knowledge = power

Front 4

How and why elites mediate reality, function of mass public in that relationship

Back 4

elites need support to rule political power, economic wealth and social vision --> create myths & narratives to create agreement, by mediating reality  mass public mirror elites ideologies support & elite interest, supporters police & those who disagree

Front 5

Why media so controversial in politics

Back 5

he who controls reality controls politics;; ideally, the news media would perfectly reflect political reality. Ideally, the news media would present reliable and accurate information. The real is far from the ideal.

Front 6

Experiential reality

Back 6

what people have personally experienced

Front 7

Agreement reality

Back 7

the other things they take to be real

Front 8

elite

Back 8

a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status; the best.

Front 9

Arguments of those who see media as liberal (ex. Bernard Goldberg)

Back 9

tend to present change based liberal issues & values as sympathetic (ex: rights based on stories on homeless, women rights, race issues, poverty, etc.) ;; conservative issues and values are not presented as sympathetic (ex: anti welfare, anti abortion)

Front 10

Rise of Right Wing media and polemical commentators

Back 10

attack all “so called mainstream media” as liberal

Front 11

Define polemical from its ancient Greek roots

Back 11

practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, policitcal, or scientific matters; greek word = warlke, hostile

Front 12

Left Media Response to rise of right wing media

Back 12

add polemical commentators, is there no objectivity in journalism only one side or the other? A free press becomes a tool of politics

Front 13

propaganda

Back 13

the deliberate systematic attempt to shape perceptions manipulate cognitions and direct behavior to achieve a certain response.

Front 14

3 ways to determine if media message propaganda or not

Back 14

• Is the premise valid?
• Is the logic sound?
• Are the claims backed by credible evidence?
• Are conclusions warranted?

Front 15

Central question of IR (International Relations) in studies, war as primary focus of this

Back 15

How much cooperation vs. conflict is possible between states? (esp. war)

Front 16

Everyday opinion

Back 16

partisan politics (good vs. evil, us vs. them), view through ideology

Front 17

Politicians/state leaders

Back 17

use both theory & ideology, theory both descriptive & prescription

Front 18

4 major theories of IR

Back 18

1. Realism
2. Liberalism
3. Marxism
4. Constructivism

Front 19

Classical realism

Back 19

human nature based (ex: Hobbes, Machiavelli, Clausewitz)

Front 20

Neorealism

Back 20

(newer versions or theories) – science based ;;structure forces warning choices, international politics like chess game

Front 21

good wars vs. bad wars

Back 21

good to increase territory or power;; not good to wage: war for ideology _ ideology not a signifant motivation for behavior (*important), miscalculation of interest

Front 22

Marxism - main ideas & assumptions

Back 22

it’s all about the money, wealthy capitalist classes run state and go to war for their own interests (ex: we’re in war of Iraq for oil.. George Bush did it for his own wealth)

Front 23

Bush Doctrine 3 pillars

Back 23

1. Anticipatory pre-emption
2. Unilateralism
3. Spread democracy

Front 24

Culture

Back 24

in terms of implicit and explicit beliefs, practices, and expectations;; the set of values that a group shares;; as everything from language to a shared appreciation for a particular body shape.

Front 25

Political culture

Back 25

is the shared social context from which people make political choices.

Front 26

Agents of political socialization

Back 26

those from whom the group learns the political culture, e.g., schools, parents, the media, politicians, friends, religious leaders, etc.

Front 27

Why political culture important in democracy

Back 27

helps individuals identify with the larger group and provides a context for action by and within that group.;; People use culture to define or justify policy. ;; can be used politically is the way that culture can influence group identity.

Front 28

Political reality is a mediated reality.

Back 28

True

Front 29

The concept of cognitive frameworks helps to explain why people interpret information differently.

Back 29

True

Front 30

Everything about the way the news is presented is focused on attracting an audience that can be sold to advertisers.

Back 30

False

Front 31

Because people generally do not like conflict, news stories generally do not focus on conflict

Back 31

False

Front 32

News stories are more likely to focus on ordinary events rather than unusual happenings.

Back 32

False

Front 33

Because reporters try to be balanced, they avoid focusing to much on attention on elites.

Back 33

False

Front 34

The relationship between elites and the media can be explained by a mutual exploitation model.

Back 34

True

Front 35

Protests are one way that non-elites can get their voices and opinions inserted into the content of the news media.

Back 35

True

Front 36

“Spin” or “Framing” occurs when politicians attempt to provide a cognitive framework for people to interpret a set of facts.

Back 36

True

Front 37

The journalistic norms of objectivity and fairness lessen the distortions caused by dramatic imperative.

Back 37

False

Front 38

The choice to go to war is almost never consciously and rationally made.

Back 38

False

Front 39

One result of the obsession with preventing another world war was a body of academic study and theory that is often referred to as idealism.

Back 39

True

Front 40

According to the theoretical approach to international relations called realism, power is the fundamental resource to be pursued.

Back 40

True

Front 41

Fearing an attack, in 1967 Arab countries planned a sneak attack on Israel.

Back 41

False

Front 42

An argument can be made that the countries that allied with the United States to topple Saddam Hussein were engaged in “bandwagoning.”

Back 42

True

Front 43

Those who adhere to the Foreign Policy Analysis approach to international relations argue that states should be thought of as unitary rational actors.

Back 43

False

Front 44

While liberal democratic countries do not seem any less prone to war than any type of country, they do not seem to fight one another.

Back 44

True

Front 45

In international politics, a hegemon is a country that is powerful enough to dominate all others.

Back 45

True

Front 46

World systems theory rejects Marxist explanations to assert that global capitalism will improve world conditions.

Back 46

False

Front 47

According to the constructivist perspective, international communication becomes the critical consideration in the study of international relations.

Back 47

True

Front 48

The problems with using culture to explain political phenomena is that culture offers a universal explanation; everything political could be explained in these terms.

Back 48

True

Front 49

Political scientists have clear methods for accounting for culture when comparing countries.

Back 49

False

Front 50

The process by which the group teaches political culture to members of the society called “political education.”

Back 50

False

Front 51

One aspect of New Zealand’s culture that results from its geographic isolation is that travel abroad is highly discouraged.

Back 51

False

Front 52

The authors suggest that there is a connection between New Zealand’s national rugby team and respect for New Zealand’s native population.

Back 52

True

Front 53

One of the reasons why it is so difficult to protect culture is that it is difficult to define what culture is.

Back 53

True

Front 54

In New Zealand, moral, not geostsrategic reasoning, is the primary benchmark for foreign policy.

Back 54

True

Front 55

It is clear that culture matters, it is hard to know how much it matters.

Back 55

True

Front 56

Political culture can be defined as the shared social context from which people make political choices

Back 56

True

Front 57

The idea that something that is part of a group’s shared identity can also be owned is widely accepted across the world by all cultures

Back 57

False