Political Science Midterm

Midterm

Oligarchy

government by the few

Initiative

process that enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot

Plurality

the winning candidate takes more votes than any other candidate but does not garner a majority

Direct Democracy

a form of government in which policies and laws are decided by a majority of all those eligible rather than by a body of elected representatives

Referendum

a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision

Federalism

mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in a way that allows each to maintain its own integrity

Popular Consent

political concept that refers to the idea that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society over which that political power is exercised

Recall

the process by which citizens can remove elected officials from office before their term is completed

Impoundment

An action taken by the president in which he or she proposes not to spend all or part of a sum of money appropriated by Congress

Marble cake federalism

cooperative federalism/model of federalism holds that the local, state, and national governments do not act in separate spheres, but instead have interrelated policy goals and administrative duties

Confederation

a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action

Judicial Review

power of the courts of a country to examine the actions of the legislative, executive, and administrative arms of the government and to determine whether such actions are consistent with the constitution

Implied Powers

political powers granted to the United States government that aren’t explicitly stated in the Constitution

Dual Federalism

political arrangement or a system of governance where the federal and state governments have separate and distinct powers, responsibilities, and resources, without interfering with each other

Partisanship

quality or state of being partisan, which means having strong and sometimes blind adherence, loyalty, or support for a person, group, party, faction, cause, or ideology, often without fair consideration of the facts and circumstances

Unitary System

a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a centralized government, in contrast to a federal state

Socioeconomic Status

social standing or class of an individual or group

Ethnocentrism

tendency or attitude to judge other cultures by one's own culture or standards

Political Socialization

the process by which people develop their political knowledge, values, and ideology

Reinforcing cleavages

social and economic differences reinforce each other

Cross-cutting Cleavages

national, ethnic, linguistic, and religious divisions that affect political allegiances and policies

Gross Domestic Product

total market value of the goods and services produced by a country’s economy during a specified period of time

Sun belt

a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest

American Exceptionalism

the idea that the United States is inherently different from other nations

Public Sector Interest Groups

a nonprofit association or group operating outside government that advocates and pursues policy objectives

Lobbyist

one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation

Faction

composed of individuals or representatives of organizations that share a political aim or a set of political beliefs

Social Movements

a loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society’s structure or values

Federal Register

1. a daily publication of the US federal government that issues proposed and final administrative regulations of federal agencies

Soft Money

positions where the funding source is based on external grants and contracts

Issue Network

a coalition of interest groups and people who join together to advocate for a specific problem and for changing a government policy that pertains to that problem

Open shop/Closed shop

a system whereby employees in a place of work are not required to join a labor union

Dealignment

a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous partisan affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it

Patronage

a situation in which a person is rewarded for supporting a particular politician, such as campaigning or voting for them

Caucus

a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy

Direct Primary

a primary in which nominations of candidates for office are made by direct vote

Honeymoon

a period of popularity enjoyed by a new leader

Platform

a document stating the aims and principles of a political party

Hard Money

the regulated funds that donors contribute to political candidates running for federal office

United Government

The three distinct branches of the government

Selective Exposure

the motivated selection of messages matching one’s beliefs

Latency

Political opinions that are held but not yet expressed

Intensity

an important source of organization among political attitudes

Salience

the importance of issues, particularly for voters

Primary Elections

an election to select candidates to run for public office

Canidate Appeal

one that aspires to or is nominated or qualified for an office, membership, or award

Retrospective Issue Voting

voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office

Midterm election

general elections that occur every four years in the middle of the U.S. presidential term