Civil-Military Relations and Policymaking

These flashcards cover the key concepts, definitions, and theories discussed in the lecture regarding civil-military relations, policymaking processes, political parties, and the influence of social media.

What are the four dimensions of the civil-military gap as outlined by Rahbek-Clemmensen et al.?

Cultural gap, demographic gap, policy preferences gap, and institutional gap.

Why is identifying the correct civil-military gap important?

Different gaps lead to different problems requiring specific policy responses.

What challenges to non-partisanship does social media create for the military according to Urben?

Service members express political opinions more openly, online behavior blurs personal and professional identities, and social media amplifies partisan content.

What factors drive society's trust in the military according to Margulies & Blankshain?

Performance, transparency & communication, partisanship, interaction with civilians, media portrayal, and perceptions of professionalism.

Define 'Civil-Military Gap'.

The differences—cultural, demographic, policy, or institutional—between civilian society and the armed forces.

What are Dye's stages of the public policymaking process?

Problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, policy legitimation, policy implementation, policy evaluation, and policy change.

What does Kingdon’s Three Streams Model propose about policy change?

Major policy change occurs when the problem stream, policy stream, and politics stream come together.

What is the difference between Dye’s and Kingdon’s policymaking models?

Dye’s model is linear and structured, while Kingdon’s model is nonlinear and emphasizes fluid dynamics.

What is the role of informal actors in Dye's and Kingdon's models?

Informal actors shape agenda setting, influence policy formulation, and link streams without being public-facing.

What are examples of inside strategies used by interest groups to influence policy?

Lobbying legislators, writing legislation, testifying at hearings, and providing expertise.

What are the components of American political parties as described in the lecture notes?

Party organization, party in government, and party in the electorate.

What factors influence voter choices according to the lecture notes?

Party ID, ideology, candidate traits, economic evaluations, issues, and voting cues.

What is affective polarization?

Growing dislike, distrust, and hostility toward the other party.

What are some possible solutions to address affective polarization?

Electoral reforms, cross-cutting interactions, media literacy, and cultural interventions.

How does social media impact political participation?

It reduces the cost of participation and can trigger large-scale mobilization through small actions.

What is the definition of fake news?

Deliberately false or misleading information presented as legitimate news.

How do social movements influence civil rights policymaking?

By raising public awareness, mobilizing people, and changing elite incentives.

What types of success can social movements achieve?

Recognition, policy change, agenda-setting, narrative change, and constituency empowerment.

What are the key terms associated with media influence on political thinking?

Information provision, agenda setting, framing, and priming.