AP Gov Chapter 1 Vocab

Government

The institutions through which public policies are made for a society

Collective Goods

Goods and services, such as clean air and clean water, that by their nature cannot be denied to anyone.

Politics

The process of determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue. Politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.

Public Participation

Any action that people do to shape, affect, or shape how a government is run (voting in elections, joining protests, signing petitions, talking to public leaders).

Single-Issue Groups

Groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance.

Policy making system

The process by which policy comes into being and evolves. People’s interests, problems, and concerns generating more interests, problems, and concerns.

Linkage Institutions

The political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the US, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Policy Agenda

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people in politics at a point in time.

Political Issue

An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.

Policy Making Institutions

The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues. The US constitution established 3 policymaking institutions (Congress, the president, and the courts.) Today, the power of the bureaucracy is so great that many political scientists consider it a fourth policymaking institution.

Public Policy

A choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with some regard to some problem.

Policy Impacts

The effects a policy has on people and problems. Impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy has met its goal and at what cost.

Democracy

A system of selecting policymakers and organizing government so that policyholders represents and responds to the public’s preferences.

Majority Rule

A fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority desire be respected.

Minority Rights

A principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to a majority.

Representation

A basic principle of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.

Pluralism

A theory of American democracy that emphasizes that the policymaking process is open to the participation of all groups and are shared interest, with no single group usually dominating. Pluralists tend to believe that as a result, public interest prevails.

Elitism

The theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.

Hyperpluralism

A theory of American democracy contending that interest groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups is thereby weakened.

Policy gridlock

A condition that occurs when interests conflict and no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy, so nothing gets done.

Political Culture

An overall set of values widely shared within a society.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The sum total of the value of all the goods and derives produced in a year in a nation.

Midterm elections

Elections held halfway through a president’s four-year term to elect members of congress and some state/local officials.

Participatory Democracy

Emphasizes broad participation in politics and civil society.