PSC 1002 Definitions

All Definitions

Politics (6)

Is the process by which individuals and groups seek agreement on a course of common, or collective action, even as they disagree on the intended goals of that action.

Bargaing

A form of negotiation in which two or more parties disagree and propose exchanges and concessions to find a course of acceptable collective action.

Preferences (7)

Individuals’ choice, reflecting economic situation, religious values, ethnic identity, or other valued interests.

Compromises

Settlement in which every/each side concedes some of its preferences in order to secure others.

Bicameralism (8)

A legislature compromised of two chambers, with each holding a veto over the other.

Indsitiuional Design

Is a product of politics.

Constitution (9)

A document outlining the formal rules and institution of government and the limits placed on its powers. “A constitution may be a highly formal legal document, such as that United States of it may be resemble Britain’s unwritten constitution, as an informal” “understanding” based on centuries of precedents and laws.

Institutions

In a democracy, organizations that manage potential conflicts between political rivals help them find mutually acceptable solutions and make and enforce the society’s collective agreements. Among the prominent federal political institutions in the United States are Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court.

Government

The institutions and procedures through which people are ruled. “These consist of these institutions and the legally prescribed process for making and enforcing collective agreements.

Offices

Subdivisions of some government departments that confer on their occupants specific authority and responsibility.

Authority

Is the acknowledged right to make a particular decision.

Power (10)

Refers to a politician’s actual influence over others whose cooperation is needed to achieve their political goals.

Collective Action

An action taken by a group of like-minded individuals to achieve a common goal.

Coordination

The act of organizing a common goal. Coordination remains a prerequisite for effective collective action even after the disincentives to individual participation.

Prisioner’s Dilemma

A situation in which two (or more) actors cannot agree to cooperate for fear that the other will find its interest best served by reneging on the agreement.

Politicians (12)

A small group of professionals tasked by society with discovering and coordinating mutually attractive decisions.

Focal Point (13)

Focus identified by participants when coordinating their energies to achieve a common purpose.

A Zero-Sum Game (17)

As in elections, one side’s gain is the other side’s loss.

Free-Rider Problem

A situation in which individuals can receive the benefits from a collective activity whether or not they helped to pay for it, leaving them with no incentive to contribute: Ex: Elections

Tragedy of the Commons (19)

A situation in which group members overexploit a common resource, causing its destruction.

Regulations (21)

Setting up rules limiting access to a common resource and monitoring and penalizing those who violate them.

Privatize

To prevent a common resource from being overexploited by trying the benefits of its consumption to its cost.

Transaction Costs (22)

The costs of doing political business are reflected in the time and effort required to compare preferences and negotiate compromises in making collective action.

Conformity Costs (23)

The difference between what a person ideally would prefer and what the group with which that person makes collective decisions actually does. Individuals pay conformity costs whenever collective decisions produce policy outcomes that do not best serve their interests.

Representative Government (25)

A political system in which citizens select government officials who, acting as their agents, deliberate and commit the citizenry to a course of collective action.

Direct Democracy

A system of government in which citizens make policy decisions by voting on legislation themselves rather than by delegating that authority to their representatives.

Republic

A form of democracy in which power is vested in elected representatives.

Tyranny

A form of government in which the chief executive is chosen by the majority party or by a coalition of parties in the legislature.

Parliamentary Government (26)

A form of government in which the chief executive is chosen by the majority party or by a coalition of parties of the legislature.

Cabinet

The formal group of presidential advisers who head the major departments and agencies of the federal government. Cabinet members are chosen by the president and approved by the Senate.

Coalition

An alliance of unlike-minded individuals or groups to achieve some common purpose, such as lobbying, legislating, or campaigning for the election of public officials.

Separation of Powers

The distribution of government powers among several political institutions. In the United States at the national level, power is divided between the three branches: Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court.

Private Goods (27)

Benefits the services over which the owner has full control of their use.

Public Goods and Collective Goods (28)

Goods collectively produced and freely available for everyone’s consumption.

Home Rule (37)

Power given by a state to a locality to enact legislation and manage its own affairs locally Home rule also applies to Britain’s administration of the American colonies.

Bicameral Legislature (42)

A legislature is composed of two houses or chambers. The U.S Congress (House and Senate) and every U.S. state legislature (with the exception of Nebraska’s, which is unicameral) and bicameral legislatures.

Deceleration of Independence (43)

The document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declaring the independence of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain.

Articles of Confederation (44)

The compact among the thirteen original states that formed the basis of the first national government of the United States from 1777 to 1789, when it was supplanted by the Constitution.

Confederation

A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they delegate to a central government.

Shay’s Rebellion (48)

Uprising of 1786 led by Daniel Shays a former captain in the Continental Army and a bankrupt Massachusetts farmer, protested the state’s high taxes and aggressive debt collection policies. The rebellion demonstrated a fundamental weakness of the Articles of Confederation—it’s ability to keep the peace—and stimulated interest in strengthen the national government, leading to the Philadelphia Convention that framed the Constitution.

Nationalist (50)

Shifting to the national government responsibilities traditionally exercised by the states.

Popular Sovereignty (51)

Citizens delegate authority to their agents in government, with the ability to rescind that authority.

Virgina Plan (52)

The constitutional blueprint drafted by James Madison that sought to reform the Articles of Confederation. Introduced at the Constitutional Convention (1787), the plan proposed a tripartite national government, but unlike the subsequent Constitution, it provided for a popularly elected legislature that would dominate national policymaking.

States Rights (53)

Safeguards against a too-powerful national government that was favored by one group of delegates to the Constitutional Convention (1787). States’ rights advocates supported retaining those features of the Articles of Confederation that guarded state prerogatives, officeholders, and equal representation for each state regardless of population.

New Jersey Plan

New Jersey delegate William Paterson proposed for reforming the Articles of Confederation. Introduced the Continental Congress (1787), the New Jersey Plan was favored by delegates who supported states’s rights/

Commerce Clause (55)

The clause in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution. This clause grants Congress the authority to make laws that “are necessary and proper” and to execute those laws.

Necessary and Proper Clause

The last clause of Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution. This clause grants Congress the authority to make laws that “are necessary and proper” and to execute those laws.

Checks and Balances (56)

A Constitutional mechanism giving each branch some oversight and control of the other Branches. Examples are presidential appointments and judicial review of presidential and congressional actions.

“Take Care” Clause (58)

The provisions in Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution instruct the president to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Allows them to undertake whatever actions the nation’s well-being requires that are not expressly forbidden by the Constitution or public law.

Supermajority

A majority larger than a simple 52 percent majority, which is required for extraordinary legislative actions such as amending the Constitution or certain congressional procedures. For example, in the Senate, sixty votes are required to stop a filibuster.

Great Compromise (59)

The agreement between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention (1787) that decided the selection and composition of Congress. The compromise stipulated that the lower chamber (House of Representatives) be chosen by direct popular vote and that the upper chamber (Senate) be selected by the state legislatures. Representation in the House would be proportional to a state’s population; in the Senate, each state would have two members.

Electoral College

A body of electors in each state, chosen by voters, who formally elect the president and vice president of the United States. Each state’s number of electoral votes equals its representation in Congress; the District of Columbia has three votes. An absolute majority of the total electoral votes is required to elect a president and vice president.

Supremacy Clause (60)

A clause in Article IV of the Constitution declares that national laws are “supreme” laws of the land and therefore take precedence over any laws adopted by the states or localities.

Judicial Review

The authority of a court to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional and therefore invalid.

Bill of Rights (83)

The first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Logroll (64)

The result of the legislative vote trading. For example, legislators representing urban districts may vote for an agricultural bill provided that legislators from rural districts vote for a mass transit bill.

Federalist (66)

Name given to two related, but not identical groups in late-eighteenth-century American politics. The first group, led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, supported ratification of the Constitution in 1787 and 1788. Subsequently, Hamilton and John Adams dominated national policies during the administrations of George Washington (1789-1797) and Adams (1797-1801).

Antifederalist

A loosely organized group (never a formal political party) that opposed ratification of the Constitution, which the group believed would jeopardize individual freedom and states’ rights. After ratification, the efforts of the Anti-Federalists led to the adoption of the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights.

Nullification (68)

A legal doctrine that allows a state to void any federal law that could be deemed unconstitutional.

Fractions (70)

A group of people sharing a common interest who are opposed to other groups with competing interests. James Madison defined a faction as any group with objectives contrary to the general interests of society.

Pluralism (72)

A theory describing a political system in which all significant social interests freely compete with one another for influence over the government’s policy decisions.

Command (72)

The authority of one actor to dictate the actions of another.

Agenda Control (77)

The capacity to set the choices available to others.

Fast-Track Authority

Impermanent power granted by Congress to the president to negotiate international trade agreements.

Voting Rule

A rule prescribing who votes and the minimum number of votes required to accept a proposal or elect a candidate.

Majority Rule

The principle that decides should reflect the preferences of more than half of those voting. Decision-making by majority rule is one of the fundamental procedures of democracy.

Simple Majority

A majority of 50% plus one.

Plurality (78)

Rule in electing members of Congress by which the candidate who receives the most votes wins, regardless of whether the plurality reaches a majority.

Delegation

The act of one person or body authorizing another person or body to perform an action on its behalf. For example, Congress often delegates authority to the president or administrative agencies to decide the details of policy.

Principle

Someone who possesses decision-making authority may delegate their authority to agents, who then exercise it on behalf of the principal.

Agent

Someone who makes and implements decisions on behalf of someone else.

Agency Loss

The discrepancy between what citizens ideally would like their agents to do and how the agents actually behave.

Whistleblower Laws (80)

Laws that encourage employees to disclose information about government actions that are illegal, wasteful, or corrupt by protecting their job status from reprisals. In some cases, these laws provide whistleblowers with generous rewards for recovering resources. This device helps principals keep tabs on their agents.

Gridlock

A legislative “traffic jam” is often precipitated by a divided government. Gridlock occurs when presidents confront opposition—a controlled Congress with policy preferences and political stakes that are in direct competition with their own and those of their party. Neither side is willing to compromise; the government accomplishes little, and federal operations may even come to a halt.

Bipartisan (81)

Cooperation or agreement between two political parties that usually oppose each other’s polices.

Civil Rights (130)

The powers or privileges conferred by the Constitution and the courts entitle them to make claims upon the government. Civil Rights protect individuals from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment at the hands of the governmentt.

Civil Liberties

Constitutional and legal protections from government interference with personal rights and freedom of assembly, speech, and religion.

Black Codes (137)

Laws enacted by southern legislatures after the Civil War that prevented former enslaved people from voting and holding certain jobs, among prohibitions.

Jim Crow Laws (140)

A series of laws enacted in the late nineteenth century by southern states to institute segregation. These laws created “white-only” public accommodations such as schools, hotels, and restaurants.

Segregation

The political and social practice of separating whites and Blacks into dual and highly unequal schools, hospitals, prisons, public parks, housing, and public transport.

White Primary

A practice that permitted political parties to exclude African Americans from voting in primary elections. Because, historically in the South, winning the democratic primary was tantamount to winning the general election, this law in effect disenfranchised Black voters in southern states.

Poll Tax

A tax imposed on people when they register to vote. In the decades after the Civil War, this tax was used primarily to disenfranchise Black Voters. With the passage of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment in 1964, it became unconstitutional.

Literacy test

A legal barrier used to exclude African Americans from voting. Local white registrars would require prospective Black voters to read and interpret arcane passages of the state’s constitution. Because few satisfied these registrars’ requirements, by 1910 fewer than 10% of Black men were voting in the South.

Grandfather Clause

Status stated that only those people whose grandfathers voted before Reconstruction could vote, unless they passed a literacy test or wealth test. After the Civil War, this mechanism was used to disenfranchise African Americans.

Separate but equal doctrine (41)

Which officially sanctioned segregation throughout the South for the next century.

De Facto segregation (151)

Segregation that results from practice rather than law.

De Jure Segregation

Segregation enacted into law and imposed by the government.

Affirmative Action (153)

Policies or programs designed to expand opportunities for minorities and women in its membership or employment.

Qoutas

Specific shares of college admissions, government contracts, and jobs are set aside for population groups that have suffered from past discrimination. The Supreme Court has rejected the use of quotas whenever it has encountered them.

Title IX (155)

Is a federal civil rights law that bans sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal money.

Hate Crime (160)

Refers to those provisions of the criminal codes that make—illegal—or stiffen penalties for—violence directed against individuals, property, or organizations because of the victim’s race, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation.

Incorporation (169)

The Supreme Court’s extension of the guarantees of the Bill of Rights to state and local governments through its various interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Due Process Clause (171)

A clause found in both the fifth and the fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution protecting citizens from arbitrary action by the national and state governments.

Equal Protecting Clause

The Fourteenth Amendment clauses guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws. The courts have interpreted the clause to bar discrimination against minorities and women.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

The clause in section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment stipulating that “no state shall make or enforce law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.

Selection Incorporation

The Supreme Court’s gradual process of assuming guardianship of civil liberties by applying piecemeal the various provisions of the Bill of Rights to state laws and practices.

Clear and Present Danger Test (177)

A rule used by the Supreme Court to distinguish between speech protected by the First Amendment under this rule, the First Amendment does not protect speech aimed at inciting an illegal action.

Brandonburg Test

A legal framework used to determine whether free speech can be limited in cases where it stands to incite violence or a crime.

Obscenity (178)

Defined as publicly offensive acts or language, usually of a sexual nature, with no redeeming social value. The Supreme Court has offered varying definitions in its rulings over the years.

Community Standards

The Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling states that a work is obscene if it is “utterly without redeeming social importance” and “to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests.