Ch. 2 APGOV vocab

autocracy

A system of government in which the power to govern is concentrated in the hands of one individual

oligarchy

a system of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a few people

democracy

a system of government in which in theory, the people rule, either directly or indirectly

procedural democratic

a view of democracy as being embodied in a decision-making process that involves universal participation, political equality, majority rule, and responsiveness

universal participation

the concept that everyone in a democracy should participate in governmental decision making

political equality

equality in political decision making one vote per person, with all votes counted equally

majority rule

the principle-basic to procedural democratic theory-that the decision of a group must reflect the preference of more than half of those participating a simple majority

participatory democracy

a system of government where rank and file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to govern on their behalf

e-government

online communication channels that enable citizens to easily obtain information from government and facilitate the expression of opinions to government officials

representative democracy

a system of government where citizens elect public officials to govern on their behalf

responsiveness

a decision making principle, necessitated by representative government, that implies that elected representatives should of what the majority of people want

substantive democratic theory

the view that democracy is embodied in the substance of government policies rather than in the policymaking procedure

minority rights

the benefits of government that cannot be denied to any citizen by majority decisions

majoritarian model of democracy

the classical theory of democracy in which government by the people is interpreted as government by the majority of the people

interest group

an organized group of individuals that seeks to influence public policy; also called a lobby

pluralist model of democracy

an interpretation in democracy in which government by the people is take to mean government by people operating through competing interest groups

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