A Novel Approach to Politics 4th Edition: Chapter 6

Checks and balances

Separation of powers structure of a modern democratic government works

Divine Right of Kings

The divine right of kings, or divine-right theory of kingship, is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God

Electoral College

A division of electoral votes that are divvied among the states according to population

Head of Government

generic term used for either the highest or second highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, (commonly referred to as countries, nations or nation-states) who often presides over a cabinet, a group of ministers or secretaries

Head of State

the chief public representative of a country, such as a president or monarch, who may also be the head of government

Hereditary Monarchies

the most common style of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies. Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family

Matriarchy

Matriarchy is a social system in which females hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property at the specific exclusion of men, at least to a large degree

Monarchy

a form of government with a monarch at the head

Oligarchy

small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution

Parliamentary System

democratic governance of a state where the executive branch derives its democratic legitimacy from the legislature (parliament) and is also held accountable to that legislature. In a parliamentary system, the head of state is normally a different person from the head of government

Patriarchy

a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line

Presidency

office of president

Presidential System

system of government where a head of government is also head of state and leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch

Prime Minister

most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government

Separation of Powers

an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies.