POLS 206 with Jon Bond: Test 1

Vocabulary flashcards generated from the POLS 206 Test 1 lecture notes covering political theories, democratic models, constitutional origins, federalism, and civil rights and liberties.

Politics (Main Definition)

The process of making binding decisions about who gets what or whose values everyone is going to live by.

Politics (Harold Lasswell)

Defined in 1938 as "Who gets what, when and how".

Politics (David Easton)

Defined in 1953 as the "Authoritative allocation of values".

Government

The institution that gets to make binding decisions for an entire society, holding the unique legitimate authority to use extreme coercion such as imprisonment and death.

Sovereignty

The authority to wield coercive power to allocate values in a society.

Autocracy

A form of government where sovereign power is held by one person, such as absolute monarchs and dictators.

Oligarchy

A form of government where power is held by a small elite based on wealth, status, or military power.

Democracy

A form of government in which all people have the opportunity to participate in making binding decisions.

Joseph Schumpeter's View on Democracy

The perspective that "Democracy is mostly about means, not about ends" (focusing on how things are done rather than what is done).

Popular Sovereignty

An overarching democratic concept establishing that ultimate political authority rests in the hands of the people, requiring government to be responsive and accountable.

Absolute Majority

A majority calculation based on all things eligible to be counted, where non-participants count the same as a "no" vote.

Civil Majority

A majority calculation based only on those who actually participated in the vote.

Direct Democracy

A form of democracy, sometimes called "Pure Democracy," where all citizens participate and make decisions directly.

Representative Democracy

A form of democracy, also referred to as a "Republican Government," where ordinary citizens choose representatives to make policy on their behalf.

Populism

A method of American democracy (also known as "Participatory Democracy") that places heavy emphasis on direct participation, majority rule, and giving ordinary people control.

Initiative Petition

A populist reform allowing an ordinary citizen to propose laws directly by securing a required number of signatures to place the proposal on a ballot.

Recall

A process allowing citizens to vote an unpopular elected representative out of office before the end of their term.

Pluralism

A method of American democracy (also termed "Deliberative Democracy") that recognizes conflicts between core principles and protects minority rights through divided government power and compromise.

Elitism

A political theory asserting that true democracy does not exist and that real power is inevitably exercised top-down by a small, monolithic, non-elected power elite.

Constitution

The basic rules and guidelines for exercising political authority within a society.

Constitutionalism

A system of limited government containing effective restraints that prevent rulers from abusing political power.

Aristotle's Classification of Governments

A system categorizing rule by One (Monarchy/Tyranny), Few (Aristocracy/Oligarchy), or Many (Constitutional Government/Majority Tyranny) based on whether rulers serve the public interest or private self-interest.

Hobbes's State of Nature

A negative condition characterized as a "state of war" and unpleasant anarchy, driving people to form a government to secure peace.

Locke's State of Nature

A harmonious condition where people are happy as long as they have food and companionship, threatened primarily by external forces rather than human nature.

Madisonian Dilemma

The challenge of designing a system where self-interested individuals given strong governmental authority are prevented from abusing that power to destroy individual freedoms.

Federalist #51

An essay written by James Madison summarizing the argument for government power, checks and balances, and institutional design to control human nature.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted by James Madison to protect individual rights.

Enumerated Powers

Powers specifically written down in the text of the Constitution.

Implied Powers

Powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution but derived through the "Necessary and Proper" clause to carry out enumerated functions.

Inherent Powers

Prerogative executive powers claimed by the president to preserve the Union and respond to national crises.

Executive Privilege

The claimed presidential right to withhold advice and confidential documents from Congress or the courts.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court case that established the legal doctrine of "separate but equal" in public transportation under the 14th Amendment.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court ruling that overturned "separate but equal" in public education, declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional.

Confederation

A voluntary association of sovereign member states where central authority is subordinated to regional governments and possesses no direct power over citizens.

Unitary Government

The most common system of government globally, where power is concentrated in a single central government that delegates limited power to sub-units.

Federation

A system where a constitution divides authority between a central government and sovereign component parts (states or provinces), with no right to unilateral withdrawal.

Concurrent Powers

Overlapping powers shared by both the national government and state governments, such as taxing and borrowing money.

Reserved Powers

Powers kept by the states under the 10th Amendment (police powers) to regulate the health, safety, and morals of citizens.

Enabling Act

A law passed by Congress authorizing a U.S. territory to draft a state constitution as part of the procedure to become a new state.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Article 4 requirement mandating that each state legally recognize the public acts, civil records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

Interstate Rendition

The horizontal constitutional obligation requiring states to extradite criminal fugitives back to the state in which the crime was committed.

Dual Federalism

A theoretical model of federalism with a clear, distinct division between national and state sovereign responsibilities.

Cooperative Federalism

The practical model of federalism where lines between national and state responsibilities overlap and require joint action and shared funding.

Categorical Grants

Federal funds provided to state governments for specific, narrowly defined purposes such as highway construction.

Block Grants

Federal grants provided for broad, general policy areas such as education or law enforcement.

Cross-Over Sanctions

Federal requirements that withhold funding from one program area to force state compliance in an unrelated policy area.

Ratchet Effect

The trend where federal government spending increases significantly during a national crisis and drops afterward, but fails to decrease back to pre-crisis baseline levels.

Unfunded Mandates

Federal statutes or regulations requiring states to take on mandatory responsibilities without receiving federal money to cover the costs.

Civil Rights

Positive actions or "swords" wielded by government to protect individuals from discrimination and ensure equal treatment.

Civil Liberties

Negative safeguards or "shields" that restrict government action to preserve individual choices and rights against overreach.