Political Science 1 Midterm Study Materials - UC Berkeley

Political Insititution

In a democracy, an organization that manages potential conflicts between political rivals, helps them find mutually acceptable solutions, and makes and enforces society's collective agreements. Examples: congress, presidency, supreme court

Significance: rules of game structure actors incentives. Hard to change, create offices that outlast individuals, people plan on them remaining forever

Strategic Politicians

Goal oriented actors: primary goal is reelection. Usually behave strategically in pursuit of goal

Significance: must consider actions to stay in office, use bargaining and compromise

Prisoner's dilemma

A situation in which two actors can't agree to cooperate for fear that the other will find its best interest served by reneging on the agreement. Would be better off cooperating with the other side, but instead each side has incentive to defect. Collective action problem

Significance: every successful political exchange must solve the prisoner's dilemma. Each side realizes that it will be better off with a collective outcome

Coordination Problem

The act of organizing a group to achieve a common goal. Coordination remains a prerequisite for effective collective action even after the disincentives to individual participation have been solved. Two sides agree but can't synchronize

Significance: Members of a group must decide what they want and are prepared to contribute to the collective cause, and how to coordinate efforts with others. Easy to overcome collective action problem

Free Rider Problem

Type of prisoner's dilemma where individuals benefit from collective good regardless of whether they pay the costs.

Significance: free riders benefit anyway, so have no incentive to contribute

Selective incentive

Private goods or benefits that induce rational actors to participate in a collective effort to provide a collective good.

Significance: it's a way for groups to solve collective action problems. Can solve free riding

Conformity costs

The difference between what a person ideally would prefer and what the group with which that person makes collective decisions actually does.

Significance: Individuals pay conformity costs whenever collective decisions produce policy outcomes that do not best serve their interests

Transaction Costs

The costs of doing political business reflected in the time and effort required to compare preferences and negotiate compromises in making collective decisions. Time, effort, resources required to make collective decisions

Significance: relevant for designing and evaluating institutions. They can pose formidable barrier to political agreements. Costs rise as the number of people whose preferences must be taken into account increases

Stamp Act

Tax implemented on colonists to help Britain pay for war. Colonists were angry

Significance: this is a conformity cost that led to revolution.

Home rule

Power given by a state to a locality to enact legislation and manage its own affairs locally. Home rule also applies to Britain's administration of the American colonies

Significance: Britain originally ruled with light touch. Most Americans were free riding on Britain and were fine with Britain's US rule

Boycott of british goods

Colonists began boycotting British goods in protest of the ever increasing taxes they were facing. led to Boston Tea party

Significance: Brits respond with coercive acts that led to the revolutionary war

Continental Congress

First was in 1774 and asserted home rule. boycott British products until taxes were lowered. Second was in 1775 and created the declaration of independence and articles of confederation

Articles of confederation

The compact among the thirteen original states that formed the basis of the first national government of the united states from 1777 to 1789 when it was replaced by the constitution

Significance: ineffective and replaced in 1787

Shay's rebellion

Uprising of 1786 led by Daniel Shays, a former captain of the Continental Army and a bankrupt Massachusetts farmer, to protest the state's high taxes and aggressive debt collection policies.

Significance: the rebellion demonstrated the fundamental weakness of the articles of confederation: inability to keep the peace. and stimulated interest in strengthening the national government, leading to the Philadelphia convention that framed the constitution

Virginia Plan

Constitutional blueprint drafted by Madison to reform Articles of Confederation. introduced Consitutional Convention, the plan proposed a tripartite national government, but unlike the subsequent constitution, it provided for a popularly elected legislature that would dominate national policymaking

Significance: Bicameral legislature both appointed by population, wide authority to legislate, veto over state laws, executive chosen by lower. Not enough representation for small states, would lead to Connecticut Compromise

New Jersey Plan

Delegate William Paterson's proposal for reforming the articles of confederation. Introduced at the consitutional convention of 1787, favored by delegates who supported states' rights

Significance: heavily favors small states. Led to the Connecticut compromise

Connecticut Compromise

House chosen by the people for two year terms

Senate elected by the legislature of the state and two per state

Significance: house represents people, senate represents the states

Logroll

The result of legislative vote trading. For example, legislators representing urban districts may vote for an agricultural bill provided that legislators from rural districts vote for a mass transit bill.

Significance: Legislators representing one group/district may vote for a bill another group provided that they vote fro something that the original party sponsors

enumerated powers

The explicit powers given to Congress by the constitution. Specific powers are of taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and provision of national defense

Significance: These are the things congress explicitly has power to do

Separation of powers

The distribution of government powers among several political institutions. In the US, at the national level is divided between the three branches: congress, president, supreme court

Checks and balances

Gives each branch the constitutional authrority to prevent the others from gaining too much power (presidential veto, senate approval, judicial review)

Significance: constitutional mechanism giving each branch the oversight to control other branches.

Electoral college

Body of electors in each state chosen by the voters who formally elect the president and vice president of the USA. Each state's number of electoral votes equals its representation in congress. DC has three votes.

Significance: An absolute majority of the total electoral vote is required to elect the president and vp. Popular vote seemed unrealistic to founders

"Take care" clause

Provision in constitution that the president "take care that the laws be faithfully executed"

Ambition to counter-ambition

Madison thought that the competing ambitions of the legislative branch and executive branch would protect the judicial branch

Extended republic

A large, diverse republic is a way to protect America from the tyranny of the majority and factions

Mischief of factions

A group of people sharing common interests who are opposed to other groups with competing interests

Significance: Madison warned of their danger to the democracy

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the US constitution

Significance: anti federalists wanted these to ensure the federal government would not become too powerful and ensured people basic protection

Judicial Review

the Authority of the court to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional and therefore invalid

Divided government

a term used to describe gov where one political party controls the exec branch and the other party controls one or both houses of the legislature

Expressive Voters

Population who actively vote for individuals and policies as a way to express what they are for and what they are against

Electoral connection

How elected officials are tied to the public and obligated to represent

collective action

all individuals would be better off cooperating but fail to do so because of conflicting interests between individuals that discourage joint action

Public vs private goods

Private goods are goods brought by individuals like food and Public goods are goods that are provided by everyone like the army, police, fire dept) and can be consumed by anyone

Tragedy of the commons

Individuals deplete a public resource since they use as much of it as possible so they max their short term position

separated institutions sharing power

Three branches are independent although have some overlapping abilities

Judicial legislation

When courts do not feel bound by the letter of the law nor by their own precedents, and instead appropriate the legislative function of making laws in resolving issues

Term limit

2 terms

Term of office

4 years

Gerrymandering

When state legislatures manipulate redistributing to either divide or concentrate a specific demographic

Advertising

Promoting the politician in media

Position-taking

Candidate take stance on issues not being voted on for the public

Credit-claiming

Members take credit for and directly tie themselves to specific legislative results

Casework/Earmarks

casework: A law program or project that effects the community

earmarks: Funding for infrastructure or other important projects

Incumbency advantage

Candidates who hold office tend to get re-elected

Sophomore surge

an increase in the votes congressional candidates usually get when they first run for reelection

Rules committee

Group that structures how the house will debate each bill

Appropriations committee

Passes bills involved in regulating government spending

Conference committee

reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate

Speaker of the house

maintains order and manages the proceedings of house

conditional party government

Political parties are at their strongest when they take extreme points of view and refuse to compromise

Filibuster

Debate the bill so it never comes to a vote

Cloture rule

a rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate

Trustee versus delegate

Trustees- take preferences into account but use their judgment to decide the best course of action

Delegates- follow preferences and act as mouthpiece for public

Formal representation

Mechanics of how a representative is elected

Descriptive representation

Concept of having representatives that match their constituents demographically

Symbolic representation

Having representatives that share beliefs and ideology with their constituents

Substantive representation

Having representatives that actively serve the preferences and interests of the represented

Executive privilege

President can keep info from judicial and legislative branch for "public interests"

Executive orders

Issued by president w force of law for national/international matters

Executive agreements

Formal international agreements entered into by the president that do not require the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

Unitary executive

A belief that the president's inherent powers allow him to overrule congressional grants of independent authority to agencies.

Commander in chief

term for the president as commander of the nation's armed forces

Head of state

The executive role that symbolizes and represents the people both nationally and internationally.

Chief legislator

Proposer of the legislative agenda

Chief budgeter

Presidential role creating and overseeing a unified federal budget.

Party leader

Most powerful person within a political party

Popular leader

Informal role of the president

Going public

the act of launching a media campaign to build popular support

Bargaining/persuasion

informal tool used by the president to persuade members of Congress to support his policy initiatives

Institutional presidency

a set of offices and staff that assist the president

Executive office of the president

The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, and several other units.

The White House office

The personal office of the president, which tends to presidential political needs and manages the media.

The office of management and budget

An office that prepares the president's budget and also advises presidents on proposals from departments and agencies and helps review their proposed regulations.

Weber's features of bureaucracy

- Clear division of labor: "offices", position descriptions

- Chain of command: "org chart"

- System of impersonal rules: formal by-laws, regulations, not dictated by personal relationships

- Written regulations: "SOPs (standard operating procedures)"

Spoils System

A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

Pendleton act

reform measure that established the principle of federal employment on the basis of open, competitive exams and created the Civil Service Commission

Dual principals problem

Elected officials are the "principal"; and bureau is the "agent." In U.S. there are two principals "bosses" President and Congress jointly control design, staffing, funding of bureaucracy = collective action problems, not necessarily responsive to American people

Delegation dilemma

President and congress give duties to others who have the potential to mess up or go against original intent

Iron triangles

A mutually dependent relationship between bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. They dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

Issue network

Relationships among interest groups, congressional committees and subcommittees, and the government agencies that share a common policy concern.

Counter-Majoritarian Difficulty

The argument that judicial review is problematic because it allows unelected judges to overrule the decisions of elected representatives, thus undermining the will of the majority.

Supremacy Clause

Constitution is the supreme law of the land

The Least Dangerous Branch

The courts because it had no control over the armed forces or federal funds

stare decisis

Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases

Marbury v. Madison

This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review

Stuart vs. Laird

presented two constitutional questions raised by the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801. First, could Congress abolish the circuit courts created by the 1801 statute and thereby, in effect, deprive the judges appointed to them of their positions? Second, could Congress require justices of the Supreme Court to sit as circuit judges? Justice William Paterson's brief opinion answered both questions in the affirmative, basically allowing Congress to rearrange the judicial branch.

Textualism/Living constitution

Textualism: An approach to interpreting the Constitution that relies on a literal, "plain words" reading of the document

Living constitution: A way of interpreting the Constitution that takes into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances rather than the text alone.

Judges as politicians