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141 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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nation
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Population with a historic sense of self.
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state
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Government structures of a nation.
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political institution
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Established and durable pattern of authority.
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weak state
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One unable to govern effectively; corrupt and penetrated by crime.
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failed state
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One incapable of even minimal governance, with essentially no national government.
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institutionalize
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To make a political relationship permanent.
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monarchy
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Hereditary rule by one person.
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republic
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A political system without a monarch.
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unitary system
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Centralization of power in a nation's capital with little autonomy for subdivisions.
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first-order civil divisions
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Countries' main territorial components, such as U.S. states or Spanish provinces.
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federalism
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Balancing of power between a nation's capital and autonomous subdivisions, such as U.S. states.
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center-periphery tension
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Resentment of outlying areas at rule by nation's capital.
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regionalism
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Feeling of regional differences and sometimes breakaway tendencies.
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devolution
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Shifting some powers from central government to component units.
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quasi-
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Nearly or almost.
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prefect
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Administrator of a French department
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decentralization
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Shifting some administrative functions from central government to lower levels; less than devolution.
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autonomias
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Spanish regions with devolved powers.
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prefecture
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Japanese first-order civil division.
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Land
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German federal first-order civil division; plural Lander.
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confederation
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Political system in which components override center.
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center
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Nation's capital and its powers.
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republic
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In Communist Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, federalist first-order civil division.
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glasnost
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Gorbachev's policy of media openness.
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centrifugal
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Pulling apart.
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single-member districts
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Electoral system that elects one person per district, as in the United States and Britain.
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majoritarian
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Electoral system that gives more than half of seats to one party.
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plurality
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The most, even if less than half.
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proportional representation
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Elects representatives by party's percent of vote.
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mixed-member
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Hybrid electoral system that uses both single-member districts and proportional representation.
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laissez-faire
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French for "let it be"; economic system of minimal government interference and supervision; capitalism.
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welfare state
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Economic system of major government redistribution of income to poorer citizens.
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statism
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Economic system of state ownership of major industries to enhance power and prestige of state; a precapitalist system.
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socialism
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Economic system of government ownership of industry, allegedly for good of whole society; opposite of capitalism.
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strong state
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Modern form of government, able to administer and tax entire nation.
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minority
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Subgroup distinct by background, viewpoint, or practice within larger society.
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statute
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An ordinary law passed by a legislature, not part of the constitution.
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constitution
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Basic rules that structure a government, usually written.
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judicial review
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Ability of courts to decide if laws are constitutional; not present in all countries.
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judicial activism
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Willingness of some judges to override legislatures by declaring certain statutes unconstitutional.
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judicial restraint
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Unwillingness of some judges to overturn statutes passed by legislatures.
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Basic Law
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German Grundgesetz. Germany's constitution since 1949.
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political culture
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The psychology of the nation in regard to politics.
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constitutionalism
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Degree to which government limits its powers.
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separation of powers
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U.S. doctrine that branches of government should be distinct and should check and balance each other, found in few other governments.
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State Duma
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Russia's national legislature.
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constituent assembly
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Legislature convened to draft new legislation.
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habeas corpus
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Detainee may protest innocence before judge.
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human rights
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Freedom from government mistreatment such as arrest, torture, jail, and death without due process.
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civil rights
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Ability to participate in politics and society; such as voting and free speech; sometimes confused with but at a higher level than human rights.
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economic rights
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Guarantees of adequate material standards of living; the newest and most controversial rights.
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constructed
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Something widely believed as old and hallowed but actually recent and artificial.
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sedition
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Incitement to public disorder or to overthrow the state.
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democracy
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Political system of mass participation, competitive elections, and human and civil rights.
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illiberal democracy
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Regimes that are elected but lack democratic qualities such as civil rights and limits on government.
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referendum
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A mass vote on an issue rather than for a candidate; a type of direct democracy.
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representative democracy
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One in which the people do not rule directly but through elected and accountable representatives.
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caste
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Rigid, hereditary social class or group.
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mandate
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A representative carrying out the specific wishes of the public.
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trustee
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A representative deciding what is the public good without a specific mandate.
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civil disobedience
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The nonviolent breaking of an unjust law to serve a higher law.
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mass media
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Modern means of communication that quickly reach very wide audiences.
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totalitarian
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Political system in which the state attempts total control of its citizens.
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hierarchy
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Organized in a ranking of power from top to bottom, as if on a ladder.
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authoritarian
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Nondemocratic government but not necessarily totalitarian; individual freedoms sacrificed in favor of command, obedience, and order; not as much interference in citizens' private lives; much of the world now ruled by this type of regime.
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Third World
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The developing areas; parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America; out-of-date term coined in 1952; now we use the word "developing".
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petrostate
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Country based on oil exports, such as Saudi Arabia.
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whig democracy
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Democracy for the few, typical of early stages of democracy.
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demagogue
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Politician who whips up masses with extreme and misleading issues.
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kleptocracy
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Rule by thieves, used in derision and jest.
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democratic peace
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Theory that democracies do not fight each other.
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feudalism
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System of political power dispersed among layers.
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parliament
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National legislature; when capitalized, British Parliament, specifically House of Commons.
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Riksdag
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Sweden's parliament.
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Estates General
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Old, unused French parliament.
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absolutism
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Post-feudal concentration of power in monarch.
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presidential systems
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Those with separate election of executive (as opposed by symbolic) president.
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president
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In U.S.-type systems, the chief political official; in many other systems, a symbolic official.
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parliamentary systems
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Those with election of parliament only, which in turn elects the prime minister.
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prime minister
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Chief political official in parliamentary systems.
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coalition
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Multiparty alliance to form a government.
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fall
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In parliamentary system, a cabinet is voted out or resigns.
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cabinet
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Top executives who head major ministries or departments.
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government
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In Europe, a given cabinet, equivalent to U.S. "administration."
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administration
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Executives appointed by U.S. president, equivalent to European "government."
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separation of powers
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Legislative and executive branches checking and balancing each other.
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fusion of power
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Executive as an offshoot of the legislature.
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MP
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British member of Parliament, namely, the House of Commons.
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opposition
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Those parties in parliament not supporting the government.
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backbencher
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Ordinary member of parliament with no leadership or executive responsibilities.
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National Assembly
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Lower, more important chamber of French parliament.
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Bundestag
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Lower, more important chamber of German parliament.
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bicameral
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Parliament having two chambers, upper and lower.r
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unicameral
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Parliament with one chamber.
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Bundesrat
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Upper, weaker chamber of German parliament.
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Lords
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Upper, weaker chamber of British parliament.
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life peer
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Distinguished Briton named to House of Lords for his or her life, not heredity.
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vote of confidence
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Vote in parliament to support or oust government.
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whip
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Legislator who instructs other party members when and how to vote.
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Capitol Hill
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Home of U.S. Congress.
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minority government
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Cabinet lacking firm majority in parliament.
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portfolio
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Minister's assigned ministry.
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pork barrel
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Government projects aimed at legislators' constituencies, also called earmarks.
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log rolling
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Legislators mutually supporting each other to get pork barrel bills passed.
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constituency casework
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Attention legislators pay to complaints of people who elect them.
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ombudsman
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Swedish for "agent"; lawyer employed by parliament to help citizens wronged by government.
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Question Hour
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Time reserved in Commons for opposition to challenge cabinet.
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apartheid
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System of strict racial segregation formerly practiced in South Africa.
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longitudinal
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Studying how something changes over time.
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aggregate
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Thing or population considered as a whole.
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Aristotle's view of regime types: one governs
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monarchy v. tyranny
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Aristotle's view of regime types: a few govern
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aristocracy v. oligarchy
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Aristotle's view of regime types: many govern
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polity v. democracy
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avowed identity
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Process by which individuals portray themselves.
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ascribed identity
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Process by which others attribute identities to people.
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ethnocentrism
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An orientation toward one's own ethnic group; a tendency to elevate one's own culture above others'.
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emic
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Understanding communication patterns from inside a particular cultural community or context.
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etic
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Universal generalizations across cultures from a distance.
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identity
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The concept of who we are; different types include racial, ethnic, class, age, biological sex, gender, sexual, national, religious, regional, professional, personal
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race
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Thought to be socially constructed.
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gender
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The roles we play and the effects of those roles; socially constructed
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sex
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Biological basis (7 point scale with most at the poles of male and female)
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nation-state
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Fiction; the nation equalling the state is a political claim
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nationalism
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Negative; blind love for one's country based on others' feelings and negative, discriminatory behaviors.
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patriotism
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Positive; love for one's country based on one's own feelings and civic behaviors.
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separatism
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Desire to create own states; one of three types of nationalism
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new states
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Forging shared sense of national identity; one of three types of nationalism
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older states
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Maintaining unity, multi-ethnic states; one of three types of nationalism
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contact hypothesis
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The idea that better communication between groups of people is facilitated simply by bringing them together and allowing them to interact; does not always work.
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Weber's ideal types
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Openly artificial technique devised to help with analysis; perfect, pure, true or ideal form used for comparison purposes with real-life examples of certain phenomena.
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government spending
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Strong tendency to grow; most governments tax their citizens more and engage more than the US in public welfare efforts; money goes to social security, defense, Medicare/Medicaid, safety net programs, etc.
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anarchy
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The absence of government.
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Athenian democracy
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5th century BCE; direct democracy; all adult male citizens eligible; rule by the people.
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elite theorists v. pluralists
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Agreement that elitists hold the reins of power; debate over the degree to which elites are held accountable to general public; rule by elites is unfair and undemocratic.
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pluralists
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Think that elites can be held accountable by the public; instead of money, interest groups are responsible for what happens in politics.
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interest groups
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Associations that pressure government for policies they favor.
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French austerity
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President Nicolas Sarkozy raising age when one can receive pension.
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British austerity
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Prime minister David Cameron and his deputy Nic Clegg making severe spending review cuts including retirement age up, train fares up, current spending down 25%.
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communism
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Marxist theory merged with Leninist organization into a totalitarian party.
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Lisbon treaty
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International agreement that amends the two treaties which comprise the constitutional basis of European Union.
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European Union
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An economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe.
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