UNIT 2: Linkage institutions

Party in the government

The elected officials in government who belong to a party

Party Organization

The group of people who manage the actions and interests of a political party

Party in the Electorate

Voters who identify and support with a party

Nominating candidates

Select candidates in primary elections

Informing the public

Create party platforms and bringing issues to the public

Acting as watch dogs

Blaming things that go wrong on the party in power, alert public in wrong doings

Political Identification

How people choose to identify politically (Usually based on parties they support)

Economic Left (Liberal)

Liberals

Economic equality

Higher taxes on the rich

Labor Unions/Workers' Rights

More government services

Social Freedoms

Pro-choice

Diversity

Progressive Values

LGBTQ+ rights

Non-Religion (secular)/Religious Freedom

Immigrant Rights

Economic Right (Conservatives)

Economic Freedom

Low taxes on everyone

Corporations/Business Leaders

Less govt intrusion

Issues and markets will fix themselves

Social Conformity/Security

Pro-life

Assimilation

Traditional Values

Traditional Marriage

Importance of religion

Limited immigration

Liberation

support for minimal government control of both economic and social issues

Authoritarian

support for heavy government involvement in economic and social issues

Identity Politics

political and social activity organized around groups shared identity

Litigation

Suing the govt to change laws or interpretations of laws

"amicus curiae" briefs

Groups with experts may litigate a "test case" before the Supreme Court

Raising Awareness

Attempts to get others interested in the issue

Use of media to get attention of the public

Electioneering

Anything that helps a candidate get elected (TV & Radio Ads)

Lobbying

Interests hire lobbyists who have connections in government

Revolving door

ex-representative and their staff, people switching jobs from working as lawmakers to being Lobbyist

Informer

Provide public with current and accurate information of what is going on

Watchdog

A free media is essential to a democracy because it checks the power of the government with information

Agenda Setter

Media allows a conduit for the better voice of the people as well as the government

The Fairness Doctrine

a policy that requires broadcasters to present contrasting viewpoints on issues of public importance

Misinformation

false information and misleading information

Synthesis Media

how to identify AI-generated content, anything fake

Verification

media with “verify first” than assuming its authentic 

Polarization 

political attitudes toward ideological extremes of left and right

Radicalization

process where individuals develop specific view and beliefs that support violence and affect government personnel

Echo Chambers

where political officals and policy makes surround themselves with info that reinforce their belifs and not anyone elses

Three Main Goals

enhance public engagement, increase transparency & accountability and facilitate rapid accurate information dissemination 

Algorithms

used in the government for service delivery, fraud detection and resource allocation 

Surveillance Capitalism

widespread collection and commodification of personal data by corporations 

Electoral College

US President is chosen in an "Indirect" election

Each state holds their own elections for their Electors

Gerrymandering

Parties in power manipulate voting district boundaries in order to maximize districts that vote in their favor

Packing

concentrates as many voters of one type in a single district to minimize the number of elections they can influence

Cracking

spreading out voters of a particular type among many districts to deny them a large voting

Swing States

A state whose electoral votes could go to either of the two major parties

First Past the Post: Spoiler effect

Multiple candidates from the same or similar parties steal votes from one another to allow an opponent to win even if majority of voters support those similar views

First Past the Post: Two Party Tendency

Voters will stop supporting the candidate who truly represents them when they see that that candidate has no chances of winning elections. They will support another, more popular candidate. This pattern repeats until there are only 2 candidates left.

Single Transferable Vote

People rank their voting choices

Min # of votes needed to win is 100% / number of reps needed (multiple reps per area, fewer area if needed)