Politics Exam 2

Constitution

legal document, empowering government and protecting peoples rights

Constitution purpose

structure of government articulate; who has power, how much power; uses and limits of power

Unitary system

power is central; government is sovereign

Confederal system

individual government have ability to say no to central government

Federal system

national and state government have power

Constitution articles in order

legislative, executive, judicial, states, amendments, supreme law of land, ratification

Full faith and credit

Each state honors laws of other states

Amendment 13

abolishment of slavery

Amendment 16

income taxes authorized

Amendment 19

women's suffrage

Amendment 27

congressional pay increases

Judicial review

court decides if law is constitutional

Judicial activism

judge is willingness to override legislation; declaring statue unconstitutional

Judicial restraint

judges unwillingness to overturn statues passed by legislators

Constructivism

identify and understand purpose of text

Elections

means of choosing leaders and/or policies

Elections purpose

allow people to have say; mobilize people, and support of state

Majority

having 50% +1 to win

Plurality

winning by having more votes than opponents

Downs paradox

voting isn't worth it because one or two votes doesn't matter

Electoral system

set of rules which determines how people are selected for office

Single member district

one with most votes wins

Runoff elections

ensures one of candidates gets past 50%

Proportional representation

represent seats, determined by number of votes

Dual systems

voting for representative and party to lead nation; ex. German federal assembly

Rank choice

rank candidates by preference; process continues till majority win

PR benefits and drawbacks

allows more proportional outcomes; makes coalition formation more difficult

Super citizen

Concept that civilians must know everything and be informed for democracy

Unsophisticated Citizen

as long as you care to one policy, you can participate

Parliament: Head of state

ceremonial role; different from executive branch

Parliament: minority party

Cannot affect voter outcome, can give constructive criticism

Unicameral

One legislative or parliamentary chamber; ex: Cuba, Ukraine

Bicameral

two chambers; ex. UK, Republic of Ireland.

House of Lords

appointed by monarch on recommendation from PM

Role of HL

provide individual expertise; scrutinize and revise legislation

4 types of lords

elected hereditary peers, law lords, life lords, bishops

House of Lords act 2026

removed hereditary peers

Advantages of parliamentary

quick response and clear lines of responsibility for policy making

Hybrid system policy leadership

president has fixed terms

Hybrid system: powers of PM

direct government actions, responsible for national defense

Divine law

religion; law comes from God

Natural law

reason for laws; rationale explanations

Positive law

law is man-made, man is not perfect

Code law

write everything down; defense, elements, and punishments

Case law

Kings Law, and apply them in place

Five basic types of law

criminal, civil, constitutional, administrative, international

Criminal law

state versus individual; punitive

Civil law

between individuals; non-punitive

Constitutional law

interprets government powers and rights of people

Administrative law

regulatory orders; impose fines or sanctions

International law

relations and conduct of sovereign states

Punitive damages

not punishment; ensures act/event does not occur again

Jurisdiction

right of court to hear case

Courts

part of gov’t responsible for interpreting and adjudicating laws

Exclusive jurisdiction

only federal courts may hear and side case

Concurrent jurisdiction

federal & state have power over case

Original jurisdiction

authority to hear case for first time

Appellate jurisdiction

authority of court to hear case appealed by lower court

Justice

situation where people are treated as deserved; moral rightness

Substantive justice

is outcome fair?

Procedural justice

is process fair?

Deferring the approaches of court

Accusatorial, adversarial, investigative

Accusatorial approach

you wouldn't be in court if you didn't do a crime

Adversarial approach

competition to uncover truth; argue you didn't do it

Investigative approach

look more into evidence, even judge

Bureaucracy

institution that implement policy

Public administration

government bureaucracy involved in constructive and implementation of policies

Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy

recruit best, responsibility in hands of competent, division of labor

Problems with bureaucracy

parochialism, competitiveness, imperialistic

Parkinson's law

work expands to meet all available time

Peter principle

individuals raised highest level of incompetency

Pendleton act 1883

Merritt base system; employee selected through exams

Merit system influence

knowledge, merit, and length of service

Ordinary civil service

hire into ordinary jobs

Higher service

knowledgeable in specific area or history

Nepotism

hiring relatives; corruption

Iron triangles results

consumers left out; president not included; can sabotage president; jumps chain of command