Test 3

Agent of Political Socialization

a person or entity that teaches and influences others about politics through the use of information

Bandwagon Effect

increased media coverage of candidates who poll high

Bradley Effect

the difference between a poll result and an election result in which voters gave a socially desirable poll response rather than a true response that might be viewed as racist

Classical Liberalism

a political ideology based on the belief in individual liberties and rights and the idea of free will, with little role for government

Communism

a political and economic system in which, in theory, government promotes common ownership of all property, means of production, and materials to prevent the exploitation of workers while creating an equal society’ in practice, most systems use force to maintain control

Covert Context

ideologically slanted information presented as unbiased information in order to influence public opinion

Diffuse Support

the widespread belief that a country and its legal system are legitimate

Exit Poll

a election poll taken by interviewing voters as they leave a polling place

Fascism

a political system of total control by the ruling party or political leader over the economy, the military, society, and culture and often the private lives of citizens

Favorability Poll

a public opinion poll that measures a public’s positive feelings about a candidate or politician

Heuristics

shortcuts or generalizations for decision making

Horserace Coverage

day-to-day media coverage of candidates performance in an election

Leading Question

a question worded to lead a respondent to give a desired answer

Margin of Error

a number that states how far the poll results may be from the actual preferences of the total population of citizens

Modern Conservatism

a political ideology that prioritizes individual liberties, preferring a smaller government that stays out of the economy

Modern Liberalism

a political ideology focused on equality and supporting government intervention in society and the economy if it promotes equality

Overt Context

political information whose author makes clear that only one side is presented

Political Culture

the prevailing political attitudes within a society or region

Political Elite

a political opinion leader who alerts the public to changes or problems

Political Socialization

the process of learning the norms and practices of a political system through others or societal institutions

Public Opinion

a collection of opinions of an individual or group of individuals on a topic, person, or event

Push Poll

politically biased campaign information presented as a poll in order to change minds

Random Sample

a limited number of people from overall population selected in such a way that each has an equal chance of being chosen

Representative Sample

a group of respondents demographically similar to the population of interest

Socialism

a political and economic system in which government uses its authority to promote social and economic equality, providing everyone with basic services and equal opportunities and requiring citizens with more wealth to contribute more

Straw Poll

an informal and unofficial election poll conducted with a non-random population

Theory of Delegate Representation

a theory that assumes the politician is in office to be the voice of the people and to vote only as the people want

Traditional Conservatism

a political ideology supporting the authority of the monarchy and the church in the belief that government provides the rule of law

Ballot Fatigue

the result when a voter stops voting for offices and initiatives at the bottom of a long ballot

Cacus

a form of candidate nomination that occurs in a town-hall style format rather than a day-long election; usually reserved for presidential elections

Chronic Minority

voters who belong to political parties that tend not to be competitive in national elections because they are too small to become a majority or because of the Electoral College system distribution in their state

Closed Primary

an election in which only voters registered with a party may vote for that party’s candidates

Coattail Effect

the result when a popular presidential candidate helps candidates from the same party win their own elections

Delegates

party memebers who are chosen to represent a particular candidate at the party’s state or national level nominating convention

District System

the means by which electoral votes are divided between candidates based on who wins districts and/or states

Early Voting

an accommodation that allows voting up to two weeks before Election Day

Electoral College

the constitutionally created group of individuals, chosen by the states, with the responsibility of formally selecting the next U.S. president

Incumbency Advantage

the advantage held by officeholders that allows them to often win reelection

Incumbent

the current holder of a political office

Initiative

law or constitutional amendment proposed and passed by the voters and subject to review by the state courts; also called a proposition

Midterm Elections

the congressional elections that occur in the even-numbered years between presidential election years, in the middle of a president’s term

Open Primary

an election in which any registered voter may vote in any party’s primary or caucus

Platform

a set of issues important to the political party and the party delegates

PAC

organizations created to raise money for political campaigns and spend money to influence policy and politics

Recall

the removal of a politician or government by the voters

Referendum

a yes or no vote by citizens on a law or candidate proposed by state government

Residency Requirement

a stipulation that citizens must live in a state for a determined period of time before a citizen can register to vote as a resident of that state

Shadow Campaign

a campaign run by a PAC and other organizations without the coordination of the candidate

Straight-Ticket Voting

the practice of voting only for candidates from the same party

Super PACs

officially known as Independent Expenditure-Only Committees; organizations that can fundraise and spend as they please to support or attack a candidate but not contribute directly to a candidate or strategize with a candidate’s campaign

Top-Two Primary

a primary election in which the two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, become the nominees for the general election

Voter Fatigue

the result when voters grow tired of voting and stay home from the polls

Voting-Age Population

the number of citizens over eighteen

Voting-Eligible Population

the number of citizens eligible to vote

Winner-Take-All System

all electoral votes for a state are given to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state

Bottom-up Implementation

a strategy in which the federal government allows local areas some flexibility to meet their specific challenges and needs in implementing policy

Congressional Budget Office

the congressional office that scores the spending or revenue impact of all proposed legislation to assess its net effect on the budget

Debt

the total amount the government owes across all years

Deficit

the annual amount by which expenditures are greater than revenues

Discretionary Spending

government spending that Congress must pass legislation to authorize each year

Distributive Policy

a policy that collect payments or resources broadly but concentrates benefits on relatively few

Entitlement

a program that guarantees benefits to members of a specific group or segment of the p[opulation

Excise Taxes

taxes applied to specific goods or services as a source of revenue

Free-Market Economies

a school of thought that believes the forces of supply and demand, working without any government intervention, are the most effective way for markets to operate

Keynesian Economics

an economic policy based on the idea that economic growth is closely tied to the ability of individuals to consume goods

Libertarians

people who believe that government almost always operates less efficiently than the private sector and that its actions should be kept to a minimum

Mandatory Spending

government spending earmarked for entitlement program guaranteeing support to those who meet certain qualifications

Medicaid

a health insurance program for low-income citizens

Medicare

an entitlement health insurance program for older people and retirees who no longer get health insurance through their work

Policy Advocates

people who actively work to propose or maintain public policy

Policy Analysts

people who identify all possible choices available to a decision maker and assess the potential impact of each

Progressive Tax

a tax that tends to increase the effective tax rate as wealth or income of the tax payer increases

Public Policy

the broad strategy government uses to do its job; the relatively stable set of purposive governmental behaviors that address matters of concern to some part of society

Recession

a temporary contraction of the economy in which there is no economic growth for two consecutive quarters

Redistributive Policy

a policy in which costs are born by relatively small number of groups or individuals, but benefits are expected to be enjoyed by a different group in society

Regressive Tax

a tax applied to lower overall rate as individuals’ income rises

Regulatory Policy

a policy that regulates companies and organizations in a way that protects the publiC

Safety Net

a way to provide for members of society who no longer receive an income from employment

Suppy-Side Economics

an economic policy that assumes economic growth is largely a function of a country’s productive capacity

Top-Down Implementation

a strategy in which the federal government dictates the specifics of public policy and each state implements it the same exact way

Balance of Power

a situation in which no one nation or region is much more powerful militarily than any other in the world

Balance of Trade

the relationship between a country’s inflow and outflow of goods

Congressional Executive Agreement

an international agreement that is not a treaty and that is negotiated by the president and approved by a simple majority of the House and Senate

Containment

the effort by the United States and Western European allies, begun during the Cold War, to prevent the spread of communism

Diplomacy

the establishment and maintenance of a formal relationship between countries

Economic Sanction

a situation in which a country or multiple countries suspend trade or other financial relationships with another country in order to signal their displeasure with the behavior of the other country

Foreign Policy

a government’s goals in dealing with other countries or regions and the strategy used to achieve them

Free Trade

a policy in which a country allows the unfettered flow of goods and services between itself and other countries

Hard Power

the use of threat or military power to influence the behavior of another country

Isolationism

a foreign policy approach that advocates a nation’s staying out of foreign entanglements and keeping to itself

Liberal Isolationism

a policy of distancing the United States from the UN and other international organizations, while still participating in the world economy

Neoconservatism

the belief that, rather than exercising restraint, the United State should aggressively use its might to promote its values and ideals around the world

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a cross-national military organization with bases in Belgium and Germany formed to maintain stability in Europe

Protectionism

a policy in which a country does not permit other countries to sell goods and services within its borders or charges them with high tariffs to do so

Selective Engagement

a policy of retaining a strong military presence and remaining engaged across the world

Soft Power

nonmilitary tools used to influence another country, such as economic sanctions

Solo Executive Agreement

an international agreement entered by the United States that requires presidential negotiation with other nation(s), consent by two-thirds of the Senate, and final ratification by the president

Two Presidencies Thesis

the thesis by Wildavsky that there are two distinct presidencies, one for foreign and one for domestic policy, and that president are more successful in foreign than domestic policy

United Nations (UN)

an international organization of nation-states that seeks to promote peace, international relations, and economic and environmental programs