Politics Lecture Series Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary definitions covering political theory, institutions, state structures, identity, and conflict based on the lecture series transcript.

Politics (O’Neil’s definition)

The struggle in any group for power that will give one or more people the ability to make decisions for the larger group.

Lasswell's definition of politics

“Who gets what when and how,” including the actors, content, timing, and procedures.

Easton's definition of politics

The authoritative allocation of material and non-material values for a society.

Power

The ability to get others to do something that they would not otherwise do.

Pluralist state theory

The argument that power is spread across multiple centers, ensuring checks and balances in politics.

Institutions

The official or unwritten rules of the game in a society that shape political activity, such as voting procedures.

Legitimacy

A value whereby an institution is accepted by the public as right and proper, giving it authority and power.

Comparative political science

A discipline aimed at studying and understanding domestic political phenomena to explain differences and similarities among states.

Normative theory

A theory that explains how things should be, often addressing moral issues like justice and human rights.

Empirical theory

Theory focused on describing and interpreting what actually happens in politics through evidence and data.

Behaviorism

A combination of positivism and empiricism suggesting behavior can be explained by observation and must be tested empirically.

Paradigm

A dominant understanding of how the world operates, such as the shift from Keynesian to monetarist approaches.

Political ideologies

A collectively held set of values regarding the fundamental goals of politics that inspire and guide policies.

Political attitudes

The views people have about the speed and spectrum of change necessary in the balance between freedom and equality.

Political culture

A society’s norms for what is considered normal or appropriate political activity.

Fortuna

A Machiavellian concept referring to luck or fortune in politics.

Virtù

The qualities and skills a leader must possess to navigate challenges and seize opportunities, according to Machiavelli.

State (Max Weber’s definition)

Organizations which maintain the monopoly of force over a given territory.

Sovereignty

The ability of a state to carry out actions and policies within its territory independently of external and internal rivals.

Regimes

The fundamental rules and norms of politics, often embodied by a constitution, that can change through drastic events like revolutions.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The historical event that established that kings recognize each other, binding authority to territory.

Social contract

An agreement where individuals give up some freedoms to gain security and protection, providing legitimacy for state authority.

Traditional legitimacy

Legitimacy built by habit and custom over time, such as that of a king.

Charismatic legitimacy

Legitimacy built on the force of ideas and the presence of a leader, such as a revolutionary hero like Lenin.

Rational-legal legitimacy

Legitimacy built on rules, procedures, and the offices that enforce them, such as an elected executive.

Federalism

A system where certain powers are relegated to regional rather than national governments.

Unitary states

States that maintain key powers at the national level.

Asymmetric federalism

A system where some federal states are given less freedom than others, often to discriminate against minority regions.

Devolution

The tendency toward decentralization intended to improve legitimacy by giving more power and money to local governments.

Autonomy

The state’s ability to wield its power in an independent fashion.

Capacity

The state’s ability to wield its power to fulfill basic tasks and duties for its people.

Ethnicity

Ascriptive social institutions or attributes like language, religion, or history that make one group different from others.

National identity

An inherently political sense of belonging to a nation and belief in its political aspirations, often seeking sovereignty.

Citizenship

An individual’s purely political relation to the state, where they swear allegiance to it.

Nation state

A sovereign state encompassing one dominant nation that it embodies and represents.

Imagined Communities

The concept that a nation is a shared projection where people imagine being in a community with individuals they do not know.

Totalitarianism

A nondemocratic regime that is highly centralized with clear ideological goals and uses violence to transform state, society, and economy.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which power rests with a small number of people.

Populism

A thin-centered ideology that positions 'the pure people' against 'the corrupt elite' and favors the general will.

Co-optation

A method to maintain power where the public is brought into a beneficial relationship with the government through corporatism or clientelism.

Corporatism

A method of control that restricts the existence of organizations representing public interests.

Clientelism

A practice involving the granting of special advantages to individuals in exchange for public support.

Illiberal regimes

Regimes where democratic institutions are weak, the rule of law is not respected, and elections are manipulated.

Direct democracy

Public participation in governance directly.

Indirect democracy

A system where the public participates by electing representatives.

Rule of law

A necessary component of liberal democracies where everyone is equally subject to the law.

Semi-presidential system

A system where a president is head of state and appoints a prime minister as head of government.

Single-member districts (SMD)

An electoral system where each area elects one representative; also known as 'winner takes it all'.

Proportional representation (PR)

An electoral system where parties compete in multimember districts and seats are awarded based on the percentage of votes received.

Conventional politics

Political activities like voting, party membership, trade unions, and discussing politics.

Unconventional politics

Political activities such as petitions, protests, demonstrations, social movements, and boycotts.

Political alienation theory

The theory that individuals feel disconnected from the political system and feel their voices are not heard.

Slacktivism

Minimal effort activism, often performed online, such as posting about social issues.

Mixed electoral system

An electoral system that combines single-member districts and proportional representation.

EU democracy shield

A regulatory initiative for online platforms to combat misinformation.

Imperialism

A system in which countries expand their power beyond their borders to control other territories and peoples.

Colonialism

The physical occupation of other lands by imperial powers.

Welfare state

Government-protected minimum standards of income and health assured to every citizen as a political right.

Neo-functionalism

The theory that economic integration leads to political integration.

Political violence

Violence motivated by politics that is uncontrollable by the state, intended to cause policy or institutional change.

Revolution

The public seizure of the state in order to overturn the existing government and regime.

Relative deprivation model

The model suggesting revolution occurs when expectations outpace the rate of domestic change.

Terrorism

The use of violence by nonstate actors against civilians to achieve a political goal.

Guerilla war

Conflict in which nonstate combatants target the state while largely abiding by the rules of war.

Civil disobedience

The collective refusal to obey governmental commands as a nonviolent means of forcing concessions.