Government and Politics Exam 1

Politics, Ideologies, Modern State, International Politics

Harold Lasswell’s definition of politics

Who gets what, when, and how

David Easton’s definition of politics

authoritative allocations of values for a society

Definition of prisoner’s dilemma

A situation where individuals or parties have to choose to cooperate or defect with the absence of communication among each other, leading to mistrust.

Definition of ideology

An organized set of ideas that modify each other through interconnectedness.

Definition of state

a political unit with ultimate sovereignty

Definition of sovereignty

a state that has ultimate responsibility for its own affairs.

Definition of nation

a large group of people who are bound together and recognize a similarity among themselves because of a common culture

Definition of public goods

a good that benefits all members of a community (non-rivalrous) even if they have not helped in creating the good (non-exclusive)

Definition of the free rider problem

one who can enjoy the benefits of the policy whether they have contributed or not

Definition of externalities

outcome of a transaction that affects an actor not party to a transaction

Definition of methodological individualism

the way we understand collective entities is by reducing it down to descriptions about individuals

Definition of nongovernmental organizations

organizations that governments did not establish and that operate independently of any government

Definition of intergovernmental organizations

organizations founded by treaties among governments, but that operate with an independent governing structure