POLS midterm

Globalization

The increasing interdependence of citizens and nations across the world. This is sometimes seen as interference into a country's culture and sovereignty.

Government

The legitimate use of force within specified geographical boundaries to control human behavior.

National Sovereignty

Each national government has the right to govern its people without interference from other nations

order

Established ways of social behavior. Maintaining order is the oldest purpose of government.

public goods

Benefits and services, such as parks and sanitation, that benefit all citizens but are not likely to be produced voluntarily by individuals.

liberalism

The belief that states should leave individuals free to follow their

individual pursuits. This is often referred to as "classical liberalism."

communism

political system in which, in theory, ownership of all land and productive facilities is in the hands of the people, and all goods are equally shared. The production and distribution of goods are controlled by an authoritarian government.

Freedom

the absence of necessity or constraint in choice or action

Freedom of

An absence of constraints on behavior, as in freedom of speech or freedom of religion

Freedom from

Immunity

Policy power

The authority of a government to maintain order and safeguard citizens' health, morals, safety, and welfare. In the U.S., this is established by the Tenth Amendment.

political equality

Equality in political decision making: one vote per person, with all votes counted equally.

social equality

equality in wealth, education, and status.

equality of opportunity

The idea that each person is guaranteed the

same chance to succeed in life

equality of outcome

The concept that society must ensure that people are equal, and governments must design policies to redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality are actually achieved.

Rights

The benefits of government to which every citizen is entitled

anarchism

detests government

libertarianism

limited gov but needed for protecting life and liberty

liberalism

favors equality not order

Totalitarianism

A political philosophy that advocates unlimited power

for the government to enable it to control all sectors of society: business, labor, education, religion, sports, and the arts.

conservatives

Like to stick to the traditional ways of government and tend to oppose change - order over equality

laissez-faire

An economic doctrine that opposes any form of government intervention in business.

capitalism

The system of government that favors free enterprise (privately owned businesses operating with limited government regulation.

socialism

A form of rule in which the central government plays a strong role in regulating existing private industry and directing the economy, although it does allow some private ownership of productive capacity.

Majoritarian

system of policy making in which those with a numerical majority hold authority

Pluralist

View of democratic society in which interest groups compete over policy goals, and elected officials are mediators of group conflict.

elite theory

The view that a small group of people actually makes most of the important government decisions.

democratization

A process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one.

Declaration of Independence

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the document that proclaimed the right of the colonies to separate from Great Britain.

social contract theory

The belief that the people agree to set up rulers for certain purposes and thus have the right to resist or remove rulers who act against those purposes.

Republic

government without a monarch; a government rooted in the consent of the governed, whose power is exercised by elected representatives responsible to the governed.

Confederation

A loose association of independent states that agree to cooperate on specified matters.

Articles of Confederation

The compact among the thirteen original states that established the first government of the United States.

Virginia Plan

proposed 2 chambers, proportional representation, and 3 branches of gov.

New Jersey Plan

Wanted equal representation based on population- preserved articles of confed. instead of replacing.

Great Compromise

house representation based on pop, senate is equal rep. Made the electoral college.

Electoral college

a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Extraordinary Majority

A majority greater than the minimum of 50 percent plus one.

Constitution

A written plan of government - 23 resolutions and 7 articles

enumerated powers

The powers explicitly granted to Congress by the Constitution.

Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause)

a statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.

implied powers

Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution

judicial review

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws

supremacy clause

Federal law is supreme over state law

Bill of rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution - prevent tampering of fundamental rights and civil liberties.

Federalism

The division of power between a central government and regional governments

Dual Federalism

State and natl. governments seperate

Cooperative Federalism

both natl. and state gov. work together.

Commerce clause

Clause stating that Congress can regulate interstate and international commerce.

grant in aid

Money provided by one level of government to another to be spent for a given purpose

categorical clause

Grants-in-aid targeted for a specific purpose by either formula or project.

block grants

grants-in-aid awarded for general purposes, allowing the recipient great discretion in spending the grant money

formula grants

Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified

competitive grants

Grants-in-aid awarded on the basis of applications submitted by prospective recipients who are eligible to compete for the grant.

Preemption

The power of Congress to enact laws by which the national government assumes total or partial responsibility for a state government function.

Mandate

a requirement that a state undertake an activity or provide a service, in keeping with minimum national standards

Restraint

a requirement prohibiting a state or local government from exercising a certain power

Coercive Federalism

A form of federalism in which the federal government pressures the states to change their policies by using regulations, mandates, and conditions (often involving threats to withdraw federal funding).

Redistricting

The process of redrawing boundaries to reflect changes in pop.

municipal government

the government units that administer a city or town

county government

the government unit that administers a county

Special district

government units created to perform particular functions, especially when those functions are best performed across jurisdictional boundaries

home rule

the right to enact and enforce legislation locally

school district

The government units that administer elementary and secondary schools and programs

Incumbency effect

Tendency of those already holding office to win reelection due to advantages because they already hold the office.

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Descriptive respresentation

A belief that constituents are most effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in such key demographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, etc.

Seniority

generally, with length of service, committee members move

into leadership roles.

standing comittee

permanent congressional comittee that specializes in a particular policy area

joint committee

A comittee made up of members of both house and senate.

select comittee

A temporary congressional committee created for a specific purpose and disbanded after that purpose is fulfilled.

conference comittee

A temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of a specific piece of legislation.

Oversight

The process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine

whether it is carrying out policies as Congress intended.

Speaker of the House

The presiding officer of the House of

Representatives.

Majority leader

The head of the majority party in the Senate; the second highest ranking member of the majority party in the House.

Filibuster

only in senate. One senator can talk forever to drag out debate/kill bills. Can be stopped with 60 votes for cloture. Today threat of filibuster is enough

Constituents

the people a congress member represents. Need to leave them satisfied enough that they vote for you next time

Trustee

representative who is obligated to consider the views of constituents but is not obligated to vote according to those views if he or she believes they are misguided.

Delegate

A legislator whose primary responsibility is to represent the majority view of his or her constituents, regardless of his or her own view.

Bully pulpit

term that refers to the presidency as an office well suited to communicating directly with the public in order to advocate legislation.

presidents powers

veto legislation, commander in chief of military, admin head of nation, give state of union addresses, make treaties, appoint various officials

Inherent Powers

Powers not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but is inferred.

Executive orders

Presidential directive that instructs executive branch officials and agencies to create or modify public policies, without the direct approval of Congress.

presidental memorandum

presidential policy directive similar to an executive order, but not published in the Federal Register.

signing statement

statement issued by the president declaring his interpretation of legislation being signed into law.

Proclamation

A presidential statement that is usually ceremonial

Delegation of Powers

The process by which Congress gives the executive branch the additional authority needed to address new problems.

WHO (White House Office)

presidents closest advisors - chief of staff, etc.

EOP(Executive Office of the President)

The president's executive aides and their staffs; the extended White House executive establishment. Includes National Security Council, Council of Economic Advisors, Office of Management and Budget, etc.

Vice President

only official duties are back up president, president of Senate, but has come to be an important presidential advisor

Cabinet

A group of presidential advisers; the heads of the executive departments and other key officials. Cabinet has limited role as overall body of advisors. Each has subject matter expertise within his/her own department, but isn't necessarily well versed in other areas of policy (e.g. Attorney General likely lacks Military expertise

Divided government

at least one house of congress not president's party. In recent years,

divided government seems to lead to much less getting done.

Unified government

one party controls the White House and both houses of Congress