AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

confederation, unitary form, federal model

what are the basic structures of government

confederation

power is concentrated in the regional or lower level governments (states or provinces)

unitary form

this is the most popular, basic model used by most countries, power is concentrated in a central (national) government

federal model

division of power between central (national) and regional (states or provinces) governments

permits diversity and diffusion of power, lower governments serve as policy labs, more access points for participation, local governments understand local problems

strengths of federal model

inconsistent policies, may make national unity difficult to achieve, state governments may resist national policies, permit racial and economic inequality, overlapping services

weaknesses of federal model

allows exceptions

strength of a confederation

government instability, allows confederation members to leave at their discretion

weaknesses of confederation

consistency of policy, uniformity of citizen treatment

strengths of unitary form

does not allow adjustments for differences, reduces avenues for citizen influence

weaknesses of unitary form

states with large land areas, states with large populations, states with ethnic, racial, and linguistic diversity

factors linked to the federal model

vertical federalism

relationship between central government and states - national government is higher

dual federalism and coooperative federalism

2 types of vertical federalism

horizontal federalism

relationship between states, all on the same level

full faith and credit clause

states have to give full faith and credit to agreements signed in other states

privileges and immunities

residents and non-residents are to be treated the same by states

interstate rendition (extradition)

trials for state crime must take place in the state where the crime took place

interstate compacts

deals cut between states

article IV

these are all under what article: full faith and credit clause, privileges and immunities, interstate rendition

article I

this is example under what article: interstate compacts

Philadelphia Convention

key decisions: selected George Washington as the convention’s presiding officer, chose to replace America’s loose confederation of states w a strong central gov, places a “gag” order on all convention discussion and debate

small vs large states, slave vs non-slave states, strong vs weak states

what were the major issues of the Philadelphia Convention

Madison’s Virginia Plan

key provisions included: a strong central gov, lower house legislature w both houses based on population, lower house selected by the people, upper house selected by lower house, gov authorized to legislate on any matter where states had been judged incompetent, gov authorized to veto state laws at any time, single executive, national judiciary

Virginia Plan

large state plan

Paterson’s New Jersey Plan

proposed a weaker central gov, unicameral legislature, equal representation for each state, plural executive, central gov authorized to exercise only those powers expressly granted

Paterson’s New Jersey Plan

small state plan

pluralist model

groups are the key human element, gov by the people, individuals have impacts through groups, group persistence pays dividends

elite model

power is in the form of a pyramid, government always run by a few people, power is based on economic power, elections don’t matter, the masses don’t matter

criticisms of the elite theory model

keep expanding size of the elite, who is the elite?, economic power is all that matters

criticisms of the pluralist theory model

individual makes a difference?, group competition, assists established groups

criticisms of the majoritarian therory

how knowledgable are citizens?, what is citizen participation rate?, are citizens rational?

rule of one

autocracy and monarchy are examples of

rule by the few

oligarchy and aristocracy are examples of

rule by many

democracy

autocracy

individual who takes control

monarchy

birthright

oligarchy

handful of wealthy people

aristocracy

rule by the best, knowledgable

procedural view

rules, follow structure

substantive view

content of government policies

universal participation of all adults

who should participate in procedural view

majority

under procedural view, how many votes are needed to make decisions

very responsive but only to majority will

under procedural view, how responsive is government

once

under procedural view, how much should individual preference count

substantive view

evaluates the substance of policies, usually require guarantees for civil rights and liberties, sometimes add social and economic rights

procedural view

majoritarian model meshes well with what view of democracy

majoritarian model

government by the people - majority, assumes mass participation, assumes people are well-informed, encourages direct citizen participation

initiative

citizens can propose an idea to get citizens to sign, if they get them approved they can get put on a ballot to vote on

referendum

legislator proposes and then referred or sent to people for approval or disproval

majority rule

what is basic to procedural democratic therory that the decision of the group must reflect the preference of more than ½ of those participating

filibuster

allowing a single senator to block legislation

participatory democracy

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

universal participation, political equality, majority rule, government responsiveness to public opinion, and peaceful transition of power

what are the 5 principles of procedural democracy

minority rights

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

state of nature and social contract

governments stem from 2 ideas:

state of nature

what the world is like in the absence of political authority

social contract

an agreement between government and citizens in which the former agrees to provide order in return for obedience from the latter

Thomas Hobbes’

state of nature is awful because when humans are left to their own devices they do terrible things, government can do anything to produce order except for capital punishment, social contract gives control

John Locke

state of nature is generally tolerable because humans have a moral compass that guides them, social contract - citizens decide what they want from government and contract for it, life, liberty, property

political equality

one person, one vote

equality of opportunity

you get a chance

equality of outocme

redistributing resources, levelized approach

limitation of resources, incompatible values, tradeoff between freedom, order, equality, government and economics

conflicts that are inevitable in politics

freedom vs order

what was the original dilemma

freedom vs equality

what is the modern dilemma

order

all governments value _________

freedom of and freedom from

freedom can be used in two major senses

social order

established patterns of authority in society and traditional modes of behavior, it can change

preserving life, protecting property, and maintaining social relationships

order encompasses what 3 things

unicameral legislature

what was the structure of the US gov under the Articles

federalism

government power divided between national and state government

categorical grants

most common, given for a purpose and must be spent for that purpose

block grants

give some discretion or flexibility in how it can be spent

revenue sharing

plug numbers in based on your area and they would send you a check, this was eliminated by Congress