ch 8 gov vocab

party polarization

the growing gap between the stands of the parties on policy issues; on the negative side, polarization makes compromise more difficult, whereas on the positive side clear differences between the parties makes politics easier to understand for voters

political party

in the words of the economist Anthony Downs, a “team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election”

linkage institutions

the channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda; in the US, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media

rational choice theory

a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians; it assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives

party image

the voter’s perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism

party identification

a citizen’s self proclaimed preference for one party or the other

ticket splitting

voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices

party machines

a type of political party organization that relies heavily on materials inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern

patronage

one of the key inducements used by party machines; a patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone

closed primaries

elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty

open primaries

elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

national convention

the meeting of party delegates every 4 years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform

national committee

one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions; the national convention/committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories

national chairperson

the person responsible for running the ongoing activities of the national party organization

coalition

a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends

party eras

historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections

critical elections

an electoral “earthquake” where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party

party realignments

the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period

new deal coalition

a coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s; its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, southerners, African Americans and intellectuals

party dealignment

the gradual disengagement of people from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification

third parties

electoral contenders other than the two major parties; American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections

wunner take all system

an electoral system in which legislation seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies

proportional representatives

an electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportions to the number of votes won in an election

coalition government

when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature; this form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe

responsible party model

a view about how parties should work, held by some political scientists; according to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters and once in office, should carry out their campaign promises