Political Science Vocabulary

Political Science

the study of power, politics, and government.

Judicial Branch

that section of government responsible for interpreting and applying the law, especially in court cases.

Executive Branch

that section of government responsible for enforcing the laws; headed on the federal level by the President and Vice President, & at state level by the Governor.

Legislative Branch

that section of government responsible for making laws; the United States Congress, which includes the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Government

a system of rule over people and territory.

Oligarchy

rule by a few.

Anarchy

the absence of government.

Monarchy

rule by one person, usually royalty, with the right to govern passed through blood lines.

Republic

government in which the citizens elect representatives who rule in their place.

Democracy

a government in which the people rule directly.

Dictatorship

a government in which an individual or group exercise unlimited use of power.

Constitution

a basic plan of government that outlines the distribution of power, responsibilities, and the liberties of the people.

Preamble

the introduction to a constitution, detailing the reasons for establishing the government in the way spelled out in the rest of the constitution.

Separation of Powers

the assignment, according to the Constitution, of certain specific powers to each of the three branches of government.

Political Spectrum

a line showing the five major political views in their order from reactionary to revolutionary.

Conservative

a person who works to keep things as they are; a position on the political spectrum to the left of reactionary and to the right of moderate.

Liberal

a person who works for change within the system of government; a position on the political spectrum to the left of moderate and to the right of revolutionary.

Moderate

a person who supports both liberal and conservative viewpoints; a position on the political spectrum to the left of conservative and to the right of liberal; middle of the road.

Reactionary

a person who works to make conditions as they were in the past, often by working outside the system of government; a political position to the right of conservative; also known as the far right.

Revolutionary

a person who works for change by stopping or overthrowing the government; a position on the political spectrum to the left of liberal, also known as the far left.