Introduction to Political Science: Core Concepts, Philosophy, and Systems

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the foundations of political science, theories of power and legitimacy, democratic models, public administration, international politics, and populist party families across Western Europe.

Populism

A thin ideology that views society as fundamentally divided into two homogeneous, antagonistic camps—"the pure people" versus "the corrupt elite"—and asserts that politics should be an expression of the general will of the people (Mudde 2004).

Neoliberal Populism

A right-leaning populist party family that emerged in Western Europe in the post-1970 era (rooted in 1950s Poujadism) focusing primarily on lowering taxes, slashing state bureaucracy, opposing generous welfare provisions, and combating state paternalism.

Nationalist Populism

A highly successful populist party family in Western Europe whose primary mobilization issues are opposition to immigration, preservation of national identity, law and order, and welfare chauvinism.

Welfare Chauvinism

The political position, characteristic of nationalist populist parties, that state welfare benefits and social security programs should be reserved exclusively for native citizens rather than immigrants.

Reputational Shield

An analytical concept formulated by Elisabeth Ivarsflaten explaining that populist parties possessing non-xenophobic foundational roots (such as tax-protest or agrarian origins) can more easily deflect accusations of racism and preserve political legitimacy.

Cartel Party

A party model described by Katz and Mair (1995) in which established, colluding parties become semi-agents of the state, relying on public financial subsidies rather than active grassroots members and shielding themselves from external competitors.

Militaria

The fictional society in Steven Lukes' novel The Curious Enlightenment of Professor Caritat representing an authoritarian military dictatorship that maintains power through state propaganda, violence, fear, and the forced silencing of citizens.

Libertaria

The fictional hyper-liberal society in Steven Lukes' novel where radical individual freedom and market mechanisms govern everything, taxes and public welfare are nonexistent, and vulnerable citizens lack any social safety net.

Utilitaria

The fictional society in Steven Lukes' novel organized strictly according to the utilitarian principle of maximizing aggregate happiness, which reduces human morality to quantitative calculations and sacrifices individual rights (e.g., repurposing non-productive citizens as organ donors).

Communitaria

The fictional multicultural communitarian society in Steven Lukes' novel where individuals are strictly locked into fixed ethnic or religious group identities, group rights override individual autonomy, and internal cultural criticism is treated as taboo.

Proletaria

The fictional classless society in Steven Lukes' novel based on orthodox Marxism and absolute equality, which enforces ideological orthodoxy and eliminates individual thought and dissent through totalitarian state control.

Political Legitimacy

The widespread belief and acceptance among a population that political authorities have the rightful, just, and proper title to rule and exercise state power.

Authority

Rightful power that is recognized as legitimate by the governed and commands voluntary obedience or consent, distinct from raw coercion or naked physical force (de facto power).

Input-Legitimacy

Legitimacy derived from democratic inclusion, active citizen participation, and the ability of the public to formulate demands and hold governing elites accountable.

Throughput-Legitimacy

Legitimacy grounded in the institutional quality, procedural fairness, transparency, and integrity of decision-making processes within the governing administration.

Output-Legitimacy

Legitimacy based on the substantive results, administrative effectiveness, and problem-solving capacity of the political system in delivering public goods and services.

State (Max Weber's Definition)

A human community that successfully claims the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a clearly defined geographic territory.

Traditional Authority

Max Weber's concept of legitimate authority based on established customs, ancestral habits, and historical practices that have existed since time immemorial (e.g., hereditary monarchy).

Charismatic Authority

Max Weber's concept of legitimate authority resting on personal devotion to the extraordinary character, heroism, or perceived exemplary qualities of an individual leader.

Legal-Rational Authority

Max Weber's concept of legitimate authority grounded in obedience to impersonal, formally codified laws, institutional regulations, and established constitutional offices.

Aristotle's Taxonomy of Regimes

A classification of political rule categorizing governments by who rules (one, few, or many) and for whose benefit: legitimate systems serve the common good (Monarchy, Aristocracy, Politeia), while illegitimate systems serve the private interest of the rulers (Tyranny, Oligarchy, Democracy/mob rule).

Politeia

In Aristotle's taxonomy, the virtuous and legitimate form of rule by the many in which constitutional governance operates for the collective good of the entire community.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional doctrine articulated by Baron de Montesquieu in The Spirit of Laws (1748) dividing state power into distinct legislative, executive, and judicial branches so that "power checks power" and prevents authoritarian abuse.

Popular Sovereignty

The democratic principle, formulated radically by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract (1762), asserting that ultimate political power resides in the people as a collective body governed by the general will (allmennviljen).

Rule of Law (Rettsstaten)

The principle that government authority must be exercised strictly according to public, codified laws and constitutional boundaries, ensuring that no individual or institution is above the law.

Comparative Politics

The subdiscipline of political science that systematically investigates and compares the domestic political institutions, regimes, electoral systems, and governance processes of different states.

Citizen Effectiveness vs. System Capacity

A central dilemma regarding democratic scale: small political units facilitate high citizen engagement and personal access to decision-makers (citizen effectiveness), whereas large political units command superior fiscal resources and expert administration to execute policy (system capacity).

Social Trust

The generalized conviction among citizens that fellow members of society and public institutions act fairly and reliably; theorized by Robert Putnam as arising from civic voluntary associations and by Bo Rothstein as generated by universal, non-corrupt public institutions.

Political Realism

A major school of international relations theory founded modernly by Hans J. Morgenthau (Politics Among Nations, 1948) asserting that sovereign states act within an anarchic international system out of self-interest, viewing foreign policy primarily as a struggle for power and security.

Concession Model vs. Formula Model

Two approaches to international negotiations: the concession model reaches agreement incrementally through step-by-step compromises, while the formula model establishes overarching equitable principles first before resolving specific operational details.

Humanitarian Intervention

The deployment of military force by sovereign states or international coalitions within another state's borders to prevent or halt severe, widespread violations of fundamental human rights.

The Banality of Evil

Hannah Arendt's concept from Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963) positing that monumental atrocities can be executed not by demonic ideologues, but by ordinary, unthinking bureaucrats operating dutifully within an efficient, compartmentalized state machinery.

Idea Criticism (Idékritikk)

An analytical method within political theory where political ideas and arguments are scrutinized for conceptual clarity, internal logical consistency, and coherence with underlying philosophical values.

Problem of Dirty Hands

A moral dilemma in political philosophy, highlighted by Michael Walzer, where political leaders must commit acts that would be considered morally reprehensible in private life in order to protect the public or avert catastrophe.

Politics of Presence

A democratic theory developed by Anne Phillips (The Politics of Presence, 1995) arguing that fair representation requires not only a contest of abstract ideological positions (politics of ideas), but also the descriptive presence of underrepresented social groups in legislative bodies.

First Dimension of Power

Robert Dahl's direct, behavioral conception of power wherein actor A exercises power over actor B to the extent that A can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do in an observable decision-making conflict.

Second Dimension of Power

The agenda-setting conception of power formulated by Bachrach and Baratz focusing on "non-decisions," where dominant actors control political agendas to suppress controversial topics and prevent them from being debated.

Third Dimension of Power

Steven Lukes' structural conception of power over thought, wherein societal structures, socialization, and language manipulate actors' preferences and desires so they accept conditions contrary to their objective real interests.

Operationalization

The scientific process of translating abstract theoretical concepts (such as power, democracy, or trust) into concrete, measurable empirical indicators and procedures.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The series of peace treaties ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648, widely recognized by political scientists as the foundational milestone of the modern international system of sovereign, territorially defined states.

State-Nation vs. Nation-State

The conceptual distinction between a political community unified primarily by civic loyalty to shared constitutional institutions and citizenship laws (state-nation) versus one unified by common ethnic, linguistic, cultural, or ancestral bonds (nation-state).

Consociational Democracy

A power-sharing model formulated by Arend Lijphart for ethnically or religiously divided societies, characterized by broad governing coalitions, mutual veto power, proportional representation, and segmental group autonomy.

Substance Values vs. Process Values

A theoretical distinction in normative democratic theory between substantive political ends (such as liberty, equality, and justice) and procedural decision-making forms (such as deliberation, accountability, civic participation, and institutional openness).

Weberian Bureaucracy

An ideal-typical administrative system characterized by fixed jurisdictional competency, hierarchical authority, formal written documentation, salaried professional civil servants, and execution of duties governed by impersonal rules.

Broken Windows Theory

A criminological and administrative theory popularized by James Q. Wilson proposing that visible signs of minor disorder, neglect, or vandalism in a neighborhood must be resolved immediately to prevent an environment that encourages serious criminal behavior.