POLS FINAL REVIEW

Caucus

A closed meeting of the members of a political party to decide questions of policy and the selection of candidates for office.

Congressional campaign committes

An organization maintained by a political party to raise funds to support its own candidates in congressional elections

critical election

An election that produces a sharp change in the existing pattern of party loyalties among groups of voters

electoral dealignment

A lessening of the importance of party loyalties in voting decisions

electoral realignment

The change in voting patterns that occurs after a critical election

majority representation

The system by which one office, contested by two or more candidates, is won by the single candidate who collects the most votes

national committee

A committee of a political party composed of party chairpersons and party officials from every state

national convention

A gathering of delegates of a single political party from across the country to choose candidates for president and vice president and to adopt a party platform

nomination

Designation as an official candidate of a political part

party conference

A meeting to select party leaders and decide committee assignments held at the beginning of a session of Congress by Republicans or Democrats in each chamber

party identification

A voter’s sense of psychological attachment to a party

party machine

A centralized party organization that dominates local politics by controlling elections

party platform

The statement of policies of a national political party

political party

an organization that sponsors candidates for political office under the organization’s name

political system

A set of interrelated institutions that links people with government

proportional representation

The system by which legislative seats are awarded to a party in proportion to the vote that party wins in an election

responsible party government

A set of principles formalizing the ideal role of parties in a majoritarian democracy

two-party system

A political system in which two major political parties compete for control of the government. Candidates from a third party have little chance of winning office

who fled the center?

agenda building

The process by which new issues are brought into the political limelight

citizen group

Lobbying organization built around policy concerns unrelated to members’ vocational interests

coalition building

The banding together of several interest groups for the purpose of lobbying

direct lobbying

Attempts to influence a policymaker through personal contact with that individual

free-rider problem

The situation in which people benefit from the activities of an organization (such as an interest group) but do not contribute to those activities

grassroots lobbying

Lobbying activities performed by rank-and-file interest group members and other supporters.

information campaign

An organized effort to gain public backing by bringing a group’s views to public attention

interest group entrepreneur

An interest group organizer or leader

lobbyist

An organized group of individuals that seeks to influence public policy; also called a lobby.

program monitoring

Keeping track of government programs, usually done by interest groups

trade association

An organization that represents firms within a particular industry

attentive policy elites

Leaders who follow news in specific policy areas and are highly politically engaged

federal communications commission

An independent federal agency that regulates interstate and international communication by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable, and satellite

gatekeepers

Media executives, news editors, and prominent reporters who direct the flow of news

going public

A strategy whereby a president seeks to influence policy elites and media coverage by appealing directly to the American people

horse race journalism

Election coverage by the mass media that focuses on which candidate is ahead rather than on national issues

infotainment

A mix of information and diversion oriented to personalities or celebrities, not linked to the day’s events, and usually unrelated to public affairs or policy; often called “soft news.

mass media

The means employed in mass communication; traditionally divided into print media and broadcast media but now includes the internet and social media

net neutrality

The view that information online is essential for modern democratic life and should not be restricted by internet service providers

newsworthiness

The degree to which a news story is important enough to be covered in the mass media

political agenda

A list of issues that need government attention

soft news

General entertainment programming that often includes discussions of political affairs

television hypothesis

The belief that television is to blame for the low level of citizens’ knowledge about public affairs

two-step flow of communication

The process in which a few policy elites gather information and then inform their more numerous followers, mobilizing them to apply pressure to government

watchdog journalism

Journalism that scrutinizes public and business institutions and publicizes perceived misconduct.

tv echo chambers

ideological bias among the media

bimodal distribution

A distribution (of opinions) that shows two responses being chosen about as frequently as each other

civic education

School curricula that aim to prepare students for meaningful engagement with democratic processes

issue framing

The way that politicians or interest group leaders define an issue when presenting it to others

normal distribution

A symmetrical bell-shaped distribution (of opinions) centered on a single mode, or most frequent response

operational ideology

The ideological label that appropriately describes one’s policy positions.

opinion polling

Interviewing a sample of citizens to estimate public opinion as a whole

political socialization

The complex process by which people acquire their political values

public opinion

random sample

A sample where every individual of the population in question has the same chance of being selected to participate in a survey

self-interest principle

The implication that people choose what benefits them personally

skewed distribution

An asymmetrical but generally bell-shaped distribution (of opinions); its mode, or most frequent response, lies off to one side.

socioeconomic status

Position in society based on a combination of education, occupational status, and income

sociotropic responses

Opinions about how the country as a whole is doing affect political preferences more strongly than one’s own personal circumstance

stable distribution

A distribution (of opinions) that shows little change over time

symbolic ideology

The ideological label that people use to describe themselves.

transmission model

The theory that parents transmit their partisan identification to their children

how abortion became a divisive issue

how same-sex marriage became a less divisive issue

class action suit

A legal action brought by a person or group on behalf of a number of people in similar circumstances

conventional participation

Relatively routine political behavior that uses institutional channels and is acceptable to the dominant culture

direct action

Unconventional participation that involves assembling crowds to confront businesses and local governments to demand a hearing.

direct primary

A preliminary election run by the state government in which the voters choose each party’s candidates for the general election

unconventional participation

Relatively uncommon political behavior that challenges or defies established institutions and dominant norms

media events

A situation that is so “newsworthy” that the mass media are compelled to cover it. Candidates in elections often create such situations to garner media attention

terrorism

Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents

political participation

Actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or support government and politics.

supportive behavior

Action that expresses allegiance to government and country.

influencing behavior

Behavior that seeks to modify or reverse government policy to serve political interests

voter turnout

The percentage of eligible citizens who actually vote in a given election

suffrage

The right to vote. Also called the franchise

franchise

The right to vote. Also called suffrage

progressivism

A philosophy of political reform based on the goodness and wisdom of the individual citizen as opposed to special interests and political institutions

recall

The process for removing an elected official from office. Eighteen states allow recall

referendum

An election on a policy issuei

initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose an issue to be decided by the legislature or by the people in a referendum. It requires gathering a specified number of signatures and submitting a petition to a designated agency

standard socioeconomic model

A relationship between socioeconomic status and conventional political involvement: people with higher status and more education are more likely to participate than those with lower status.

election campaign

An organized effort to persuade voters to choose one candidate over others competing for the same office

primary election

A preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for public office in a subsequent election

closed primaries

Primary elections in which voters must declare their party affiliation before they are given the primary ballot containing that party’s potential nominees

open primaries

Primary elections in which voters need not declare a party affiliation and can choose one party’s primary ballot to take into the voting booth

modified closed primaries

Primary elections that allow individual state parties to decide whether they permit independents to vote in their primaries and, if so, for which offices

modified open primaries

Primary elections that entitle independent voters to vote in a party’s primary.

presidential primary

A special primary election used to select delegates to attend the party’s national convention, which in turn nominates the presidential candidate

caucus/convention

A method used to select delegates to attend a party’s national convention. Generally, a local meeting selects delegates for a county-level meeting, which in turn selects delegates for a higher-level meeting; the process culminates in a state convention that actually selects the national convention delegates

front-loading

States’ practice of moving delegate selection primaries and caucuses earlier in the calendar year to gain media and candidate attention

general election

A national election held by law in November of every even-numbered year

straight ticket

Voting for a single party’s candidates for all the offices.

split ticket

Voting for candidates from different parties for different offices

first-past-the-post-elections

A British term for elections conducted in single-member districts that award victory to the candidate with the most votes

open election

An election that lacks an incumbent

federal election commission

A bipartisan federal agency of six members that oversees the financing of national election campaigns

political action committees

An organization that collects campaign contributions from group members and donates them to candidates for political office

invidious discrimination

Discrimination against persons or groups that works to their harm and is based on animosity