Pols 101 Final

Front 1

An organization characterized by
hierarchical structure,
worker specialization,
explicit rules, and
advancement by merit

Back 1

bureaucracy

Front 2

the people who make all levels of government work for us

Back 2

bureaucracy

Front 3

Nineteenth-century practice of rewarding political supporters with public office

Back 3

spoils system

Front 4

nonmilitary employees of the government who are appointed through the merit system

Back 4

civil service

Front 5

1883 civil service reform that required the hiring and promoting of civil servants to be based on merit, not patronage

Back 5

pendleton act

Front 6

1939 law limiting the political involvement of civil servants in order to protect them from political pressure and keep politics out of bureaucracy

Back 6

hatch act

Front 7

the complex procedures and regulations surrounding bureaucratic activity

Back 7

red tape

Front 8

the principle that bureaucratic employees should be answerable for their performance to supervisors, all the way up the chain of command

Back 8

accountability

Front 9

government organizations independent of the departments but with a narrower policy focus

Back 9

independent agencies

Front 10

individuals who publicize instances of fraud, corruption, or other wrongdoing in the bureaucracy

Back 10

whistle blowers

Front 11

legislation opening the process of bureaucratic policymaking to the public

Back 11

sunshine laws

Front 12

a 1966 law that allows citizens to obtain copies of most public records

Back 12

sunshine laws

Front 13

institutions that sit as neutral third parties to resolve conflicts according to the law

Back 13

courts

Front 14

a previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on subsequent decisions

Back 14

precedent

Front 15

trial procedures designed to resolve conflict through the clash of opposing sides, modified by a neutral, passive judge who applies the law

Back 15

adversarial system

Front 16

trial procedures designed to determine the truth through the intervention of an active judge who seeks evidence and questions witnesses

Back 16

inquisitorial system

Front 17

laws whose content, or substance, define what we can or cannot do

Back 17

substantive laws

Front 18

laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced; how legal proceedings take place

Back 18

procedural laws

Front 19

laws prohibiting behavior the government has determined to be harmful to society

Back 19

criminal laws

Front 20

laws regulating interactions between individuals

Back 20

civil laws

Front 21

law stated in the Constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about the meaning of the Constitution handed down in the Courts

Back 21

constitutional law

Front 22

laws passed by a state or the federal legislature

Back 22

statutory laws

Front 23

the power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of a law

Back 23

judicial review

Front 24

case during which Marshall established the concept of judicial review

Back 24

Marbury vs. Madison

Front 25

a court’s authority to hear certain cases

Back 25

jurisdiction

Front 26

authority of a court to hear a case first

Back 26

original jurisdiction

Front 27

a hearing of a case because the losing party in the original trial argues that a point of law was not applied properly

Back 27

appeal

Front 28

authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts

Back 28

appellate jurisdiction

Front 29

Justice Department officer who argues the government’s case before the Supreme Court

Back 29

solicitor general

Front 30

“friend of the court” documents filed by interested parties to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorari or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way

Back 30

amicus curiae briefs

Front 31

view that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past

Back 31

judicial restraint

Front 32

view that the courts should be lawmaking policymaking bodies

Back 32

judicial activism

Front 33

the written decision of the court that states the judgment of the majority

Back 33

opinion

Front 34

documents written by justices expressing agreement with the majority ruling but describing different or additional reasons for the ruling

Back 34

concurring opinions

Front 35

an organization of individuals who share a common political goal and are united for the purpose of influencing government decisions

Back 35

interest groups

Front 36

a group of citizens united by ideology and seeking control of government in order to promote their ideas and policies

Back 36

political parties

Front 37

voter affiliation with a political party

Back 37

party identification

Front 38

party government when four conditions are met –
Clear choice of ideologies
Candidates pledged to implement ideas
Party held accountable by voters and
Party control over members

Back 38

responsible party model

Front 39

list of policy positions a party endorses and pledges its elected officials to enact

Back 39

party platform

Front 40

mass-based party systems in which parties provided services and resources to voters in exchange for votes

Back 40

party machines

Front 41

nomination of party candidates by registered party members rather than party bosses

Back 41

party primary

Front 42

an election signaling a significant change in popular allegiance from one party to another

Back 42

critical elections

Front 43

substantial and long-term shift in party allegiance by individuals and groups, usually resulting in a change in policy direction

Back 43

realignment

Front 44

a trend among voters to identify themselves as independents rather than as members of a major party

Back 44

dealignment

Front 45

primary elections in which only registered party members may vote

Back 45

closed primaries

Front 46

interest group activities aimed at persuading policymakers to support the group’s positions

Back 46

lobbying

Front 47

the fundraising arm of an interest group

Back 47

political action committees

Front 48

benefits available only to group members as inducements to get them to join

Back 48

selective incentives

Front 49

organize to influence government to produce collective goods or services that benefit the general public

Back 49

public interest groups

Front 50

direct interaction with public officials for the purpose of influencing policy decisions

Back 50

direct lobbying

Front 51

tendency of public officials, journalists, and lobbyists to move between public and private sectors

Back 51

revolving door

Front 52

public activities designed to bring attention to political causes; usually done by those without access to conventional means of expressing their views

Back 52

social protest

Front 53

indirect lobbying efforts that spring from widespread public concern

Back 53

grassroots lobbying

Front 54

a practice of unlimited debate in the senat in order to prevent or delay a vote on a bill

Back 54

Filibuster

Front 55

head of federal agencies and responsible for implementation of national policy; appoints cabinet members (heads of departments and agencies)

Back 55

chief administrator

Front 56

traditions of granting senior senators of the president's party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home state

Back 56

senatorial courtesy

Front 57

a presidential advisory made up of the vice president, the heads of the federal executive departments, and other high officals to whom the presidnet elects to give cabinet status

Back 57

cabinet

Front 58

the principle that bureaucracy should be depoliticized by making it more professional

Back 58

neutral competence

Front 59

limitations or restrictions on the activites of a business or individual

Back 59

regulations