Political Science 101 Quiz 1

Authority

A person (or group of people) has authority if there is general agreement among those involved that she has the right to control certain decisions and that her decisions should be followed in those areas.

Behavioralists

lean more toward looking for broad patterns across cases and using statistical analyses of numerical information

Empirical theories

describing how things work in the world we observe

Government 

 a group of people which ultimate authority within a territory

Interpretive political scientists

most likely to deal in historical and philosophical aspects of politics and to look for, detailed nonnumerical information on a few cases.

Legitimacy

Concept of authority is related to legitimacy; just because a person/institution has power does not make it legitimate.

Normative theories

involve making a judgment about the world, not describing how it works

 Political science

the academic filed that takes as its sole and general task the analysis of politics, especially the politics of state.

Politics

The making of common decisions using power; looking at politics as the search for a common choice and looking at politics as the use of power to achieve your ends

Power

the ability of one person to cause another to do what the first wishes, by whatever means.

State

commonly called a country

Theory

a statement linking specific instances to broader principles

American conservatism

emphasize individual liberty, seeing greater limits placed on government

classes

a group of people who share the same relationship to the means of production and develop a distinctive view of themselves and of the world

communism

revolutionary strategy for political change

conservatism

opposes rapid or radical changes and looks to preserve traditional social institutions, customs, and values

democratic socialism

much more willing to settle for a portion of power within a partially socialist system with a democratic framework

fascism

not easily defined but typically despises intellectualism and ideology; rejection of institutions of modern life and rebirth on charismatic dictatorship

Identity group

a group of people who share an identity that they think defines them and sets them apart from others

ideology

an organized set of related ideas that modify one another

liberalism

ideologies that have provided the framework for the most political debate

neoliberalism

the group of globalizations; cutting back on government regulation, privatized state-run businesses and free market

political theory (philosophy)

the search for political truth; including the good in life. Including the best form of political regime; replacement of political opinion with political knowledge

socialism

workers needed more government involvement; does not believe people should develop individually and was not scared of concentration of power

arbitrary (action)

people affected by a decision do not know what to expect before the decision is made and do not learn on what grounds it was made

bounded rationality

Refers to the fact that in making choices we have limited time, resources, and information

cost-benefit analysis

a tool used to measure efficiency, seeking to weigh all the different factors that must be included in making choices

distributive justice

how fair a society allocates goods and services to individuals 

due process

must follow certain standard procedures in making some policies and that if the policies are not followed in making a policy, then the policy is/should be void

effective policy

one that gives the state and the people of the state the greatest benefits at the least cost

efficiency

Refers to a policy that maximizes benefits while minimizing costs

equity

addresses the fairness of policy, perhaps its distributive effects

externality

an outcome of transaction or process that affects third parties

hierarchy of needs

 basis of what humans needs

institutional justice

The fairness of the basic institutions of society, government, or a state

justice

everyone gets what they deserve, and everyone occupies the correct position for themselves in a social order

market mechanism

the government leaves such choices as what people are to do or what goods they are to receive up to the people to choose from themselves through the exchanges of goods and services with each other

procedural justice

Emphasizes justice as embodied in the procedures by which decisions are reach about people

substantive justice

Treating people as they deserve; involves their needs and their contributions and a sense that inequalities should not be too great

tragedy of the commons

occurs when lacking an external authority to control or regulate behavior personal self-interest leads to act in ways that are not publicly beneficial

Autonomous state

A state in which the government and bureaucracy are relatively insulated from political pressures of groups in the society

Civil society

That part of society that is organized and active but neither controlled by the government nor focused on private concerns such as the family or economic activity. In other words, the part of society that is publicly engaged but not controlled by the government. It is the natural counterweight to government in the affairs of the state.

European Union

An organization of twenty-eight Western European states that have set up a rather weak common government and have coordinated many of their economic policies

Externality

A situation in which there are social costs or benefits beyond the individual costs and benefits involved in a transaction.

Failed states

A geographic entity with no effective central state apparatus but controlled by various warlords and gangs in loose and fluid relationships with one another

Free rider

One who enjoys the benefits of the policy whether she has contributed or not

Nation

A group of people who people who feel themselves bound together by culture and (usually) by language

Nationalism

Passionate identification with a nation on the part of its citizens

Nation-state

a term often used to signify today’s states; takes into account that states in modern era try to develop a sense of nation to coincide with the boundaries of the state, so that emotions of nationalism will lodge on the state as well

Public good

Something that benefits all members of the community but that non one can be prevented from using; every member if the community can enjoy the befits of it whether the person has helped pay for it or not

Regime

A form of government that a state has

Sovereignty

State

A way to organize power over a large territory. A legal structural, giving a government the right to monopolize and organize the use of power within its boundaries.

State-building

Constructing a state from scratch

Treaties of Westphalia

Ended a series of religious wars in europe; established that sovereigns ruled territories, and they should be interfered with by other sovereigns