Lecture Notes on Government, Policy, and Foreign Policy (Pages 1-9)

Flashcards covering key terms and definitions from government, policy, and foreign policy topics across Pages 1-9.

What are common goods?

Goods that all people may use but that are of limited supply.

What is democracy?

A form of government where political power rests in the hands of the people.

What is direct democracy?

A form of government where people participate directly in making government decisions instead of choosing representatives to do this for them.

What is elite theory?

Claims political power rests in the hands of a small, elite group of people.

What is government?

The means by which a society organizes itself and allocates authority in order to accomplish collective goals.

What is ideology?

The beliefs and ideals that help to shape political opinion and eventually policy.

What are intense preferences?

Beliefs and preferences based on strong feelings regarding an issue that someone adheres to over time.

What are latent preferences?

Beliefs and preferences people are not deeply committed to and that change over time.

What is majority rule?

A fundamental principle of democracy; the majority should have the power to make decisions binding upon the whole.

What are minority rights?

Protections for those who are not part of the majority.

What is a monarchy?

A form of government where one ruler, usually a hereditary one, holds political power.

What is an oligarchy?

A form of government where a handful of elite society members hold political power.

What is partisanship?

Strong support, or even blind allegiance, for a particular political party.

What is pluralist theory?

Claims political power rests in the hands of groups of people.

What is political power?

Influence over a government's institutions, leadership, or policies.

What is politics?

The process by which we decide how resources will be allocated and which policies government will pursue.

What are private goods?

Goods provided by private businesses that can be used only by those who pay for them.

What are public goods?

Goods provided by government that anyone can use and that are available to all without charge.

What is representative democracy?

A form of government where voters elect representatives to make decisions and pass laws on behalf of all the people instead of allowing people to vote directly on laws.

What is social capital?

Connections with others and the willingness to interact and aid them.

What is a toll good?

A good that is available to many people but is used only by those who can pay the price to do so.

What is totalitarianism?

A form of government where government is all-powerful and citizens have no rights.

Who were Anti-Federalists?

Those who did not support ratification of the Constitution.

What are the Articles of Confederation?

The first basis for the new nation's government adopted in 1781; created an alliance of sovereign states held together by a weak central government.

What is a bicameral legislature?

A legislature with two houses, such as the U.S. Congress.

What is the Bill of Rights?

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution; most were designed to protect fundamental rights and liberties.

What are checks and balances?

A system that allows one branch of government to limit the exercise of power by another branch; requires the different parts of government to work together.

What is a confederation?

A highly decentralized form of government; sovereign states form a union for purposes such as mutual defense.

What is the Declaration of Independence?

A document written in 1776 in which the American colonists proclaimed their independence from Great Britain and listed their grievances against the British king.

What are enumerated powers?

The powers given explicitly to the federal government by the Constitution (Article I, Section 8); power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, raise and support armies, declare war, coin money, and conduct foreign affairs.

What is a federal system?

A form of government in which power is divided between state governments and a national government.

Who were Federalists?

Those who supported ratification of the Constitution.

What is the Great Compromise?

A compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan that created a two-house Congress; representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate.

What are natural rights?

The right to life, liberty, and property; believed to be given by God; no government may take away.

What is the New Jersey Plan?

A plan that called for a one-house national legislature; each state would receive one vote.

What is republic?

A form of government in which political power rests in the hands of the people, not a monarch, and is exercised by elected representatives.

What are reserved powers?

Any powers not prohibited by the Constitution or delegated to the national government; powers reserved to the states and denied to the federal government.

What is separation of powers?

The sharing of powers among three separate branches of government.

What is a social contract?

An agreement between people and government in which citizens consent to be governed so long as the government protects their natural rights.

What is the supremacy clause?

The statement in Article VI of the Constitution that federal law is superior to laws passed by state legislatures.

What are The Federalist Papers?

A collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the Constitution.

What is the Three-Fifths Compromise?

A compromise between northern and southern states that counted a state's free population and 60 percent of its enslaved population for federal taxation and representation in Congress.

What is unicameral legislature?

A legislature with only one house, like the Confederation Congress or the legislature proposed by the New Jersey Plan.

What is veto?

The power of the president to reject a law proposed by Congress.

What is the Virginia Plan?

A plan for a two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to the lower house based on each state's population; representatives for the upper house would be chosen by the lower house.

What is a bill of attainder?

A legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trial; prohibited under the Constitution.

What is a block grant?

A type of grant that comes with fewer strings and provides recipients more latitude over how to spend grant funds.

What is a categorical grant?

A federal transfer formulated to limit recipients' discretion in the use of funds and subject them to strict administrative criteria.

What are concurrent powers?

Shared state and federal powers that range from taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establishing court systems.

What is cooperative federalism?

A style of federalism in which both levels of government coordinate their actions to solve national problems, leading to the blending of layers as in a marble cake.

What is creeping categorization?

A process in which the national government attaches new administrative requirements to block grants or supplants them with new categorical grants.

What is devolution?

A process in which powers from the central government in a unitary system are delegated to subnational units.

What is dual federalism?

A style of federalism in which the states and national government exercise exclusive authority in distinctly delineated spheres of jurisdiction, creating a layer-cake view of federalism.

What is the elastic clause?

The last clause of Article I, Section 8, which enables the national government to make all Laws which are necessary and proper for carrying out all its constitutional responsibilities.

What is an ex post facto law?

A law that criminalizes an act retroactively; prohibited under the Constitution.

What is federalism?

An institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the national constitution.

What is the full faith and credit clause?

Found in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution, this clause requires states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states.

What is general revenue sharing?

A type of federal grant that places minimal restrictions on how state and local governments spend the money.

What is immigration federalism?

The gradual movement of states into the immigration policy domain traditionally handled by the federal government.

What is new federalism?

A style of federalism premised on the idea that the decentralization of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces overall public spending, and improves outcomes.

What is nullification?

A doctrine promoted by John Calhoun of South Carolina in the 1830s, asserting that if a state deems a federal law unconstitutional, it can nullify it within its borders.

What is the privileges and immunities clause?

Found in Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution, this clause prohibits states from discriminating against out-of-staters by denying such guarantees as access to courts, legal protection, and property and travel rights; also referred to as the comity provision.

What is race-to-the-bottom?

A dynamic in which states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations, often to workers' detriment.

What are unfunded mandates?

Federal laws and regulations that impose obligations on state and local governments without fully compensating them for the costs of implementation.

What is a unitary system?

A centralized system of government in which the subnational government is dependent on the central government, where substantial authority is concentrated.

What is venue shopping?

A strategy in which interest groups select the level and branch of government they calculate will be most receptive to their policy goals.

What is writ of habeas corpus?

A petition that enables someone in custody to petition a judge to determine whether that person's detention is legal.

What is bottom-up implementation?

A strategy in which the federal government allows local areas some flexibility to meet their specific challenges and needs in implementing policy.

What is Congressional Budget Office?

The congressional office that scores the spending or revenue impact of all proposed legislation to assess its net effect on the budget.

What is debt?

The total amount the government owes across all years.

What is deficit?

The annual amount by which expenditures are greater than revenues.

What is discretionary spending?

Government spending that Congress must pass legislation to authorize each year.

What is distributive policy?

A policy that distributes payments or resources broadly but concentrates direct benefits on relatively few.

What is an entitlement?

A program that guarantees benefits to members of a specific group or segment of the population.

What are excise taxes?

Taxes applied to specific goods or services as a source of revenue.

What is free-market economics?

A school of thought that believes the forces of supply and demand, working without any government intervention, are the most effective way for markets to operate.

What is Keynesian economics?

An economic policy based on the idea that economic growth is closely tied to the ability of individuals to consume goods.

What is laissez-faire?

An economic policy that assumes the key to economic growth and development is for the government to allow private markets to operate efficiently without interference.

Who are libertarians?

People who believe that government almost always operates less efficiently than the private sector and that its actions should be kept to a minimum.

What is mandatory spending?

Government spending earmarked for entitlement programs guaranteeing support to those who meet certain qualifications.

What is Medicaid?

A health insurance program for low-income citizens.

What is Medicare?

An entitlement health insurance program for older people and retirees who no longer get health insurance through their work.

Who are policy advocates?

People who actively work to propose or maintain public policy.

Who are policy analysts?

People who identify all possible choices available to a decision maker and assess the potential impact of each.

What is a progressive tax?

A tax that tends to increase the effective tax rate as the wealth or income of the tax payer increases.

What is public policy?

The broad strategy government uses to do its job; the relatively stable set of purposive governmental behaviors that address matters of concern to some part of society.

What is recession?

A temporary contraction of the economy in which there is no economic growth for two consecutive quarters.

What is redistributive policy?

A policy in which costs are born by a relatively small number of groups or individuals, but benefits are expected to be enjoyed by a different group in society.

What is a regressive tax?

A tax applied at a lower overall rate as individuals' income rises.

What is regulatory policy?

A policy that regulates companies and organizations in a way that protects the public.

What is a safety net?

A way to provide for members of society experiencing economic hardship.

What is Social Security?

A social welfare policy for people who no longer receive an income from employment.

What is supply-side economics?

An economic policy that assumes economic growth is largely a function of a country's productive capacity.

What is top-down implementation?

A strategy in which the federal government dictates the specifics of public policy and each state implements it the same exact way.

What is balance of power?

A situation in which no one nation or region is much more powerful militarily than any other in the world.

What is balance of trade?

The relationship between a country's inflow and outflow of goods.

What is the Cold War?

The period from shortly after World War II until approximately 1989–1990 when advanced industrial democracies divided behind the two superpowers and the fear of nuclear war abounded.

What is a congressional executive agreement?

An international agreement that is not a treaty and that is negotiated by the president and approved by a simple majority of the House and Senate.

What is containment?

The effort by the United States and Western European allies to prevent the spread of communism.

What is diplomacy?

The establishment and maintenance of a formal relationship between countries.