Lecture Notes: Government, Politics, and Public Policy - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms from the notes on government, politics, and public policy.

Government

The institution through which public policies are made for a society.

Politics

The process of determining the leaders we select and policies they pursue.

Single-issue groups

Groups with a narrow interest and members who tend to take an uncompromising stance on policy agendas.

Public policy

A choice a government makes in response to a political issue.

Policy

A course of action taken with regard to some problem.

Democracy

A system of selecting policymakers and organizing governments so that people are represented in policy.

Pluralism

A policy-making process open to participation by all groups with shared interests, with no single group domination.

Elitism

The view that an upper class pulls the strings of government to make policy.

linkage Institution

the political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the US some examples of linkage institutions are: political party, elections, interest groups, and media

Hyperpluralism