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102 Cards in this Set
- Front
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Public Opinion Polls |
A device for measuring public opinion whereby a relatively small number of individuals (the sample) are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of a whole community (the population) |
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Sample |
In a public opinion poll, the relatively small number of individuals who are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of an entire population |
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Population |
In a public opinion poll, the people (for example, the citizens of a nation) whose opinions are being estimated through interviews with a sample of these people |
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Sampling Error |
A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll; mainly a function of sample size and usually expressed in percentage terms. (Dewey defeats Truman) |
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Voter Turnout |
The proportion of persons of voting age who actually vote in a given election |
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Registration |
The practice of placing citizens' names on an official list of voters before they are eligible to exercise their right to vote |
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Apathy |
A feeling of personal disinterest in or lack of concern with politics |
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Alienation |
A feeling of personal powerlessness that includes the notion that government does not care about the opinions of people like oneself |
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Civic Duty |
The belief of an individual that civic and political participation is a responsibility of citizenship |
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Social Capital |
The sum of the face-to-face interactions among citizens in a society |
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Social (political) movements |
Active and sustained efforts to achieve social and political change by groups of people who feel that government has not been properly responsive to their concerns |
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Party-centered Campaigns |
Election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence |
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Candidate-centered campaigns |
Elections campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence |
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Linkage Institution |
An institution that serves to connect citizens with government. Linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media |
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Party Competition |
A process in which conflict over society's goals is transformed by political parties into electoral competition in which the winner gains the power to govern |
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Grassroots Party |
A political party organized at the level of the voters and dependent on their support for its strength |
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Party Realignment |
An election or set of elections in which the electorate responds strongly to an extraordinarily powerful issue that has disrupted the established political order. A realignment has a lasting impact on public policy, popular support for the parties, and the composition of the party coalitions |
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Partisan Identification |
The roughly one-third of voters who describe themselves as independent, most say they "lean" toward one of the two major parties and tend to vote for the party's candidates |
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Two-party system |
A system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control of the government |
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Multiparty System |
A system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition |
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Single-member Districts |
The form of representation in which only the candidate who gets the most votes in a district wins office |
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Plurality (winner-take-all) System |
An electoral system in which the candidate who gets the most votes (the plurality) is an election district is elected to office from that district |
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Proportional Representation System |
A form of representation in which seats in the legislature are allocated proportionally according to each political party's share of the popular vote. This system enables smaller parties to compete successfully for seats |
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Median Voter Theorem |
The theory that parties in a two-party system can maximize their vote by locating themselves the position of the median voter-the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle |
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Gender Gap |
The tendency of white women and men to differ in their political attitudes and voting preferences |
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Single-Issue (minor) party |
A minor party formed around a single issue of overriding interest to its followers |
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Factional (minor) party |
A minor party created when a faction within one of the major parties breaks away to form its own party |
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Ideological (minor) party |
A minor party characterized by its ideological commitment to a broad and noncentrist philosophical position |
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Reform (minor) party |
A minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy |
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Party Organization |
The party organizational units at national, state, and local levels; their influence has decreased over time because of many factors |
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Nomination |
The designation of a particular individual to run as a political party's candidate in the general election |
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Primary Election (direct primary) |
A form of election in which voters choose a party's nominee for public office, in most primaries, eligibility to vote is limited to voters who are registered members of the party |
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Service Relationship |
The situation in which party organizations assists candidates for office but have no power to require them to support the party's main policy positions |
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Money Chase |
A term used to describe the fact that U.S. campaigns are very expensive and candidates must spend a great amount of time raising funds in order to compete successfully |
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Hard Money |
Campaign funds given directly to candidates to spend as they choose |
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Political Consultants |
The professionals who advise candidates on various aspects of their campaigns, such as media use, fundraising, and polling |
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Packaging |
A term of modern campaigning that refers to the process of recasting a candidate's record into an appealing image |
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Air Wars |
A term that refers to the fact that modern campaigns are often a battle of opposing televised advertising campaigns |
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Single-issue politics |
The situation in which separate groups are organized around nearly ever conceivable policy issue and press their demands and influence to the utmost |
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Interest Group |
Any organization that actively seeks to influence public policy |
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Economic Groups |
Interest groups that are organized primarily for economic reasons but that engage in political activity in order to seek favorable policies from government |
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Citizens' (noneconomic) groups |
Organized interests formed by individuals drawn together by opportunities to promote a cause in which they believe but that does not provide them significant indivudal economic benefits |
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Private (individual) Goods |
Benefits that a group (most often an economic group) can grant directly and exclusively to individual members of the group |
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Collective (public) Goods |
Benefits that are offered by groups (usually citizens' groups) as an incentive for membership but that are nondivisible (such as a clean environment) and therefore are available to nonmembers as well as members of a particular group |
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Free-rider problem |
The situation in which the benefits offered by a group to its members are also available to nonmembers. The incentive to join the group and to promote its cause is reduced because nonmembers (free riders) receive the benefits (for example, a cleaner environment) without having to pay any of the group's costs |
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Lobbying |
The process by which interest group members or lobbyists attempt to influence public policy through contracts with public officials |
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Inside Lobbying |
Direct communication between organized interests and policymakers, which is based on the assumed value of close ("inside") contacts with policymakers |
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Iron Triangle |
A small and informal but relatively stable group of well positioned legislators, executives, and lobbyists who seek to promote policies beneficial to a particular interest |
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Issue Network |
An informal and relatively open network of public officials and lobbyists who come together in response to a proposed policy in an area of interest to each of them. Unlike the Iron Triangle, an issue network disbands after the issue is resolved |
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Outside lobbying |
A form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public pressure as a means of influencing officials |
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Grassroots lobbying |
A form of lobbying designed to persuade officials that a group's policy position has strong constituent support |
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Political Action Committee |
The organization through which an interest group raises and distributes funds for election purposes. By law, the funds must be raised through voluntary contributions |
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Super PACS |
Election committees that are unrestricted in their fundraising and spending as long as they do not coordinate their campaign efforts with that of a candidate |
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Interest-group Liberalism |
The tendency of public officials to support the policy demands of self-interested groups (as opposed to judging policy demands according to whether they serve a larger conception of "the public interest") |
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News |
The news media's version of reality, usually with an emphasis on timely, dramatic, and compelling events and developments |
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Press (news media) |
Print, broadcast, cable, and internet organizations that are in the news-reporting business |
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Partisan Press |
Newspapers and other communication media that openly support a political party and whose news tends to follow the party line |
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Objective Journalism |
A model of news reporting that is based on the communication of "facts" rather than opinions and that is "fair" in that it presents all sides of partisan debate |
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High-choice Media System |
A media system in which audiences have such a wide range of choices that they can largely control the type of information to which they are exposed |
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Should government be responsive to whole |
-less knowledgable people than most countries -One candidate multiple issues -Polarized opinions -Partisan alignment -Selective Perception |
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What factors have caused distrust in government? |
-Vietnam -Watergate -Negative cultural portrayals -Increased education
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Ideology |
A general belief about the role and purpose of government |
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Liberals |
-Positive role of government -Gov. programs to offset capitalism -Gov. regulates public interest -Favors higher taxes -More gov. spending -Prefers domestic programs over military spending -More egalitarian |
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Economic Liberals |
Those who believe government should do more to assist people who have difficulty meeting their economic needs on their own |
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Social Liberals |
Those who believe it is not government's role to buttress traditional values at the expense of unconventional or new values |
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Conservatives |
-Limited gov. except for safety -Lower taxes -Personal responsibility -Preference for order -Favor free market solutions |
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Economic Conservatives |
Those who believe government tries to do too many things that should be left to private interests and economic markets |
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Social Conservatives |
Those who believe government power should be used to uphold traditional values |
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Libertarians |
Those who believe government tries to do too many things that should be left to firms and markets, and who oppose government as an instrument for upholding traditional values |
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Populists |
Those who believe government should do more to assist people who have difficulty meeting their economic needs and who look to government to uphold traditional values |
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Moderate |
Either -Moderate policy preferences -Conflicting strong preferences |
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Reasons for partisanship |
-Family -Religion -Gender Gap -Schooling (i.e college more liberal) -Class -Race |
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Administrative Obstacles to voting |
-Voter registration -Residency Requirements -Access -Closing Dates -Purging |
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Political factors for voting |
-Differential Interests -Competition -Representativeness of party -Organizational efforts to mobilize |
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Personal factors for voting turnout |
-Socio Economic Status -Age -Sex -Race/Ethnicity -Partisan Identification -Political Attitudes -Education |
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Sorauf's three components of a party |
1. Party in the electorate (constituted of citizens, who to a varying degree, identify with a political party) 2. Party organization (party, committees, party leaders, activists 3. Party in government (party candidates for public office and state, local, and national public officials) TOP DOWN |
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Roles of political party |
1. Party organizations: -recruits candidates and provides campaign resources to party in government -mobilizes party in electorate 2. Party in electorate: -Elects party in government -Provides workers to party organization 3. Party in government -Responds to policy views and helps strengthen policy organization -Responds to policy views of party in electorate |
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Functions of political party |
-Interest Articulation: link between individuals and interest and policy-makers -Popular mobilization: A vehicle to mobilize masses in support of leadership policies |
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Responsible Party Model |
-Enunciates explicit statement of programs/policies -Offers candidates loyal to programs/policies -Campaigns based on choices of programs/policies -Guarantees office holders will implements programs/policies |
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Criticisms of responsible party model |
-low voter sophistication -complexity of american society -parties are too diffused and decentralized -the institutional complexity -distrust of parties |
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Why two parties |
-Historical explanations -Culture of pragmatism and consensus -Electoral institutions: single member districts, plurality voting, indivisible executive -realignment
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Why not third parties? |
-Deterred from supporting minor groups because of wasted vote and spoiler effect -Handicaps: -media coverage: horse race mentality, debate exclusion -financial constraints: no interest group/party money, laws deter few major contributions -Ballot access laws -Anti-fusion laws |
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Why it's hard to win primaries and then genera elections? |
-Aim to win your ideological side then try to win middle -you might make stands to win won that hampers you in the other -might not be ideological enough to win primary |
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Closed Primary |
-Participation is limited to voters registered or declared at the polls as members of the party whose primary is being held. Voters of other party are not allowed to "cross over" to vote in primary -Eliminates voters from other parties who might not have best interests |
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Open Primary |
-Allow independents and sometimes voters of the other party to vote in the party's primary -Gives all voters a say in choices they will have in general election |
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Top-two candidates primary |
Candidates are listed on the same ballot without regard to party; the top two finishers become the general election candidates |
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Blanket Primary |
Voters choose a candidate for each office regardless of their party |
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Caucus |
-Local open forums to determine candidates, which favors candidates with dedicated organized followings, where a small following can have a large influence -States decide caucus or primary
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Current Status of Parties |
-ideological alignment, but party dealignment -weak but strengthening national and state party organizations -rise of candidate, and candidate centered parties -Polarization of PIG and PIE |
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Interest Groups vs. Social movements |
A social movement is interested in a common issue, in which they are trying to change attitudes towards that issue, not just policy |
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Interest Groups vs. Political Parties |
-Parties attempt to put members in public office -Parties treat their members as citizens whereas interest -Interest groups are more exclusive and homogenous |
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Source of group power |
-size -membership involvement in group goals -economic and social resources of the group -quality of group leadership -geographic distribution |
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Interest Group traits |
-Interest denotes a conscious desire for a particular result or condition -Individual and voluntary -Seek goal thats they could not accomplish as individuals -Are political organizations |
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Creation of Interest Groups |
-Socio economic disturbances or crisis (real vs. perceived) -Leadership -Selective incentives: rewards shared only by members of the group |
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Changes in interest groups |
1. Growth of gov. 2. Decline of political parties 3. Explosion of advocacy groups (rise of single issue/public interest groups 4. Decline of grassroots support for IGS 5. Shifting composition of populations of IGS 6. Changes in campaign finance 7. Increased sophistication and competency of IGS
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Change in media |
-End of fairness doctrine allowed news sources to take partisan positions -Partisan radio talk shows -Rise of internet |
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Signaling (signaler) Function |
The responsibility of the media to alert the public to important developments as soon as possible after they happen or are discovered |
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Agenda Setting |
The power of the media through news coverage to focus the public's attention and concern on particular events, problems, issues, personality, and so on |
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Common-Carrier Function |
The media's function as an open channel through which political leaders can communicate with the public |
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Framing |
The process by which the media play up certain aspects of a situation while downplaying other aspects, thereby providing a particular interpretation of the situation |
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Watchdog Function |
The accepted responsibility of the media to protect the public from incompetent or corrupt officials by standing ready to expose any official who violates accepted legal, ethical, or performance standards |
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Partisan Function |
Efforts by media actions to influence public, response to a particular party, leader, issue, or viewpoint |
