Chapter 1: AP GOV Vocab

government

the institutions through which public policies are made for a society

politics

the process of determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue

the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power

political participation

all the activities by which citizens attempt to influence the selection of political leaders and the policies they pursue (voting, contacting public officials, protest)

single-issue groups

groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance; they only vote for policies that favor their single interest

policymaking system

the process by which policy comes into being and evolves

people’s interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policy-makers

these issues shape policy which impacts people

linkage institutions

the political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda (elections, political parties, interest groups, the media)

policy agenda

the issues that attract the serious attention of public official and other people involved in politics at a point in time

political issue

an issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it

policymaking institutions

the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues (Congress, the presidency, the courts, and the bureaucracy)

public policy

a choice that government makes in response to a political issue

a policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem

policy impacts

the effects a policy has on people and problems

impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy has met its goal

democracy

a system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences

majority rule

in a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority’s desire be respected

minority rights

principle that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities

representation

principle that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers

pluralism

emphasizes that the policymaking process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually dominating

believe that public interest prevails and compromise is possible

elitism

an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization, money = power

hyperpluralism

contends that groups are so strong that government, which gives in the many different groups, is thereby weakened

don’t believe in compromise

policy gridlock

a condition that occurs when interests conflict and no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy, nothing gets done

political culture

an overall set of values widely shared within a society (freedom, basic rights)

gross domestic product (GDP)

the sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a year in a nation

policy voting

having an understanding of the issues and choosing candidates who match your stand on those issues

midterm elections

elections that happen in the middle of presidential elections

when the people in the House of Representatives are up for re-election

participatory democracy

emphasizes BROAD participation in politics and civil society

direct democracy: exists on small scale

indirect democracy: choose people to represent us