Political Science Key Terms

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from political science lectures.

Politics

Linked to philosophy, history, sociology, and literature; consolidated as a discipline in the 1950/60s.

David Easton's Definition of Politics

Authoritative allocation of values, rewards, and benefits by governments, intertwined with power.

Robert Dahl's Definition of Politics

Any persistent pattern of human relationship involving power, rule, or authority, even at the family level.

Harold Laswell's Definition of Politics

The study of shaping and sharing power, as exemplified by elections determining leadership.

Max Weber's View on Power

Enforcement of power within a territory through the application and threat of force by the state.

Behavioral Approach in Political Science

Focuses on the behavior of individuals, groups, institutions, or elites in government, using quantifiable data.

Private Sphere

Includes the church, school, family, businesses, trade unions, and social clubs, protecting private property and individual freedom.

Public Sphere

Includes the state, legislature, government, courts, police, and army, where politics is actively involved.

Empirical Approach to Studying Politics

Focuses on the 'what is,' using descriptive, quantitative data and objective phenomenon analysis.

Normative Approach to Studying Politics

Focuses on the 'what ought to be,' linked to Greek metaphysics and concerned with conditions of truth or good.

Rational-Choice Theory

Individuals behave in a self-serving manner, influencing voting, lobbying, and political decisions.

Heywood's Definition of Power

The ability to achieve a desired outcome, a relationship, or the exercise of control by one person over another.

Intentionalist Approach to Power

Power as an attribute of an identifiable agent, focusing on the intentions of individuals, groups, or organizations.

Structuralist Approach to Power

Views power as a feature of the social system as a whole, emphasizing dominant economic power structures.

Elitist Thesis

Decision-making process influenced by different elites within the government.

Pluralist View

Many centers of power, where different groups constitute a specific party.

Traditional Authority

Respect for long-established customs and traditions, accepted by older generations.

Charismatic Authority

Based on the power of an individual’s personality and ability to inspire loyalty.

Legal-Rational (Bureaucratic) Authority

Based on clearly defined rules and laws, attached to an office or group instead of an individual.

Legitimacy

The rightfulness of power and authority that transforms power into rightful authority.

Democracy

Rule of the people, majoritarian decision making, popular sovereignty, political equality, and majority rule.

Liberal Democracy

Emphasizes individual rights and freedoms.

Participatory Democracy

Focuses on active participation in decision-making.

Deliberative Democracy

Emphasizes reasoned public debate and dialogue.

Direct Democracy

Involves citizens making decisions directly without intermediaries.

Classical/Direct Democracy

Ancient Greek model of direct democracy practiced in Athens.

Modern/Indirect Democracy

Representative democracies where citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.

Populist Democracy

Supports the principles of liberal democracy but believes democracy has no intrinsic value after elections.

Social Democracy

Involves Marxist principles in liberal democratic processes to mitigate inequality.

Schumpeterian Democracy

Institutional arrangement where individuals acquire the power to decide by competitive struggle for people’s vote.

The State

A collection of institutions, a territorial unit, a philosophical idea, or an instrument of coercion or oppression.

Idealist Approach to the State

Hegel’s definition as an ethical regime, fostering reverence which fails to distinguish between internal and external institutions.

Functionalist Approach to the State

Focuses on the role of the institution in maintaining social order and stability.

Organisational Approach to the State

Bureaucratic organisation and apparatus of government, funded at the public expense.

International Approach to the State

Views the state as the basic unit of analysis in international relations/politics.

Pluralist State

Foundations of classical liberalism and social contract theory, reducing the role of the state to regulation.

Capitalist State

Marxist view as an instrument of capitalist class oppression, inseparable from economic structures.

Leviathan State

A self-serving monster/independent and autonomous entity which pursues its own interests.

Patriarchal State

Based on feminist theory and the impact of male functions of the state.

Minimalist State

Founded on utilitarian assumption and atomistic conception of the individual.

Development of State/Interventionist State

Role of the state increases following a comprehensive industrialisation strategy.

Social Democratic State/Welfare/Enabling State

Social justice issues and redistributive politics.

Collectivized States/Socialist State

Supports centralised planning economic systems and state collectivisation as common ownership.

Totalitarian States

Penetrates every aspect of human existence, eliminating individual identity.

Religious State

Founded on the principles of secularism where laws com from sacred texts and religious teachings.

Modern State Formation

Global system of statehood originating in European cultural history, military and political competition, capitalism, shift from Medieval to Renaissance.

Terra Nullius

New World lands identified as empty of legal titles, political authority and humans.