Politics Mahoney

Mahoney

Direct Democracy

Directly involving the people in policy choices

Authority

The right to take a particular course of action and get stuff done due to iy

Power

The ability to do something or make something happen

Absolute power

The unlimited ability/ power to do as one pleases- only a theory

Legitimate power

Others accepting an individuals right to make a decision, maybe due to an election

Coercive power

Forcing others into complying, using laws and penalties

Traditional authority

Based on established traditions and customs

Charismatic authority

Based on the characteristics of leaders

Legal- rational authority

Granted by a formal process such as an election

Difference between Power and Authority

power is the ability to do something while authority is the right to

State

The set of institutions that exercise authority over a political community within a territory. Includes the institutions of government that determines political rules in the unit.

Civil society

The realm of autonomous groups and associations found between the state and the individual.

All collective social action

Politics is present in all human groups and societies.

First Past The Post

where the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins the seats. An electoral system

Safe seats

When constituency’s always vote for the same party

Representative democracy

The people vote for representatives who then serve in parliament or on councils as MPs or councillors.

Direct democracy

Involves the people in policy choices directly as opposed to it being purely up to elected officials. Often associated with referendums

Turnout

Percentage of people who are registered to vote

Electoral Commissions

Independent form of government and party influence and has the key responsibility of overseeing and strengthening democracy in the uk.

Franchise

The right to vote in elections

Universal suffrage

Everyone over the age of 18 who is not a prisoner, mentally incapable or a peer, has the right to vote, on the basis of one person, one vote

Party system

Provides more options for voters- greater representation, better informed and educated population

Pressure groups

an organised body of people who share common interests or causes and seek to influence government policy or public opinion without aiming to win political office. Representation.

Parliamentary sovereignty

Chosen representatives of the people hold the ultimate power in making, amending and repealing laws. Government drawn from MPs and they’re accountable to parliament. To pass laws government must get permission from HoC thereby gaining consent indirectly from the people.

Devolution

The transfer or delegation of power to a lower level.

Democratic Deficit

A term used to describe the undemocratic nature of institutions or procedures that are supposed to promote democracy

Participation crisis

The failure of the public to participate in the political process, which can unermine democratic legitimacy.

West Lothian Question

Devolution has created an imbalance in UK politics. “ Why should Scottish MPs (and others) vote on issues that do not impact their constituents but do impact other people outside their constituencies”

Political culture

The ideas, beliefs, and attitudes that shape the political behaviour within a given area. Describes the way in chich citizens collectively view the political system and their status role within it.

The nature of political participation within a given state will be influenced, in part, by the prevailing political culture.

Homogeneity

The belief that citizens share a common heritage and identity, a sense of togetherness that transcends what divides them.

Consensus

Where UK citizens accepted the “ basic rules of the game.” These rules include the need for toleration, pragmatism, peaceful regulation and compromise.

Deference

The idea that people deferred to an elite that was regarded as being “born to rule.” That there was a natural unwillingness to accept an ingrained, class-based inequality and rigid social hierarchy.