AP CoGoPo Vocabulary: Political Culture and Participation

Civil Society

voluntary associations independent from the state, including local religious and neighborhood organizations, news media, business and professional associations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)*

Nongovernmental organizations

civil society groups that provide services governments can also provide such as volunteer fire departments to groups that provide advocacy for foster children.

Political culture

the collective attitudes, values, and beliefs of the citizenry and the norms of behavior in the political system*

Political socialization

the lifelong process of acquiring one's beliefs, values, and orientations toward the political system*

Political ideology

is a set of values and beliefs about the goals of government, public policy, or politics*

Individualism

belief in individual civil liberties and freedom over governmental restrictions.*

Neoliberalism

referring to the removal of barriers and restrictions on what internal/external economic actors can do; beliefs in limited governmental intervention in the economy; privatization of government controlled industries, free trade to lower tariffs on imported goods, deregulation of governmental controls on business, and the elimination of state subsidies for industries.*

Communism

belief in the abolition of private property with near total governmental control of the economy.*

Socialism

belief in the reduction of income disparities and the nationalization of major private industries.*

Fascism

extreme nationalist ideology that favors authoritarian rule and the rights of the ethnic majority over that of ethnic minorities and the political opposition.*

Populism

political philosophy that supports the interests and rights of the common people over that of the elites*

Liberal Democracy

or authoritarianism of states include the extent of state adherence to rule of law; the degree of governmental influence on or control of the media; degree and practice of free and fair elections; degree of transparency of governmental decision making; the degree of political participation by citizens; and the degree of independence of governmental branches.*

Power

ability of the state to influence the conduct of individuals and organizations within the state

Authority

state's legitimate right to enforce a power

Rule of law

is the principle that a state should be governed by known laws and not arbitrary decisions made by individual government officials

Civil Rights

is the protection of groups of citizens from discrimination by the government or other individuals

Political Rights

is the protection of citizens' ability to run for office in free, fair and competitive elections.

Civil Liberties

is an individual's protection against abuse of powers by the government

Welfare state

a government that takes responsibility for providing key social services such as healthcare, education, housing and retirement benefits.

Post-materialism

social values of self-expression and quality of life issues such as environmental issues and social and economic equality such as LGBT rights and abortion rights.

Political participation

ways citizens can attempt to shape government policy. Can be formal (casting a ballot in a government election) or informal (protests and political criticism expressed through social media)

Formal political participation

Government controlled methods of individuals voicing political opinions that are regulated by set laws such as casting a ballot in a government election

Informal political participation

Voluntary individual actions intended to shape governmental policies with less regulation by the government such as protests and political criticism expressed through social media

Referenda

allow citizens to vote directly on policy questions as exemplified by the United Kingdom's 2016 national vote about whether citizens preferred leaving or remaining in the European Union.

Competitive authoritarian regime

(Illiberal democracies and hybrid regimes) hold elections with little competition toward the ruling party and that tend to have diminished civil liberties.

Political stability

the ability of a government to consistently provide services that meet the basic needs of most of the population to foster the public's confidence in the institutions of the state

Cleavages

Social and political cleavages are internal divisions that structure societies and may be based on class, ethnicity, religion, or territory*

Separatist movement

when a group's actions to gain greater autonomy from a government diminishes the sovereignty of that government.

Brute repression

use of coercive force by the government to suppress actions the government opposes