Vocabulary Flashcards: Canadian Politics and Political Theory (Lecture Notes)

50 vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes.

Politics

The practice of influencing the decisions of a collective to act, or not to act, in a particular manner.

Private issue

An issue that should be resolved in the private or voluntary sectors, not requiring government action.

Public issue

An issue for which some government action is believed to be necessary.

Empirical beliefs

Beliefs about how things actually are in the world.

Normative beliefs

Beliefs about how things should be; value-driven judgments.

Power (Weber)

The probability that one actor will carry out his own will despite resistance in a social relationship.

Coercion

Imposing will through force or threat of force.

Authority

Power based on legitimacy and an obligation to comply.

Influence

Imposing will through persuasion and voluntary compliance.

Government

The set of organizations that make, enforce, and administer public decisions for a society.

Legislative power

The authority to create laws.

Executive power

The authority to enforce and administer laws.

Judicial power

The authority to interpret and apply the law.

Easton’s political system

A model where inputs (demands) are converted into outputs (laws/policies) and feedback affects future inputs.

Interest group

An organization pursuing the shared interests of its members.

Advocacy group

An interest group that aims to influence government power use directly.

Political party

A formal organization seeking to gain government power by contesting elections.

Cleavages

Deep, persistent divisions in society that become politicized.

Cultural hegemony

Dominant beliefs that reinforce existing power patterns; changing action may require shifting beliefs.

Social movement

An informal alliance aiming to achieve objectives by changing dominant societal beliefs.

Agenda-setting

The media’s role in influencing what issues are considered and discussed publicly.

External/global environment

International, multinational, and supranational influences that constrain domestic policymaking.

Institutional approaches

Focus on constitutions and law as the core substance of politics; institutions shape outcomes.

Law (Canadian context)

Rules enforceable in court.

Convention (Canadian context)

Widely perceived binding rules not enforceable in court.

Comparative institutional design

Explains policy differences by comparing how institutions concentrate or diffuse power (e.g., Canada vs. the US).

Path dependence

The idea that early institutional choices constrain future options and make reversal costly.

State-based approaches

Emphasize the autonomy and role of state actors in determining policy.

Policy translation by state actors

How state actors convert preferences into public policy by generating information, building support, or imposing will.

Policy communities

Specialized policy processes within the state that gather support from relevant interest groups.

Embedded state

The state is closely intertwined with society; authorities interact with societal elites.

Political economy

The study of the interaction between the state and the economy.

Developmental state

A largely autonomous state that directs economic development (dirigiste state).

Political sociology approaches

Study government within broader social and economic environments, focusing on groups.

Lipset on social cleavages

Peaceful democratic politics are more likely when cleavages cut across groups rather than reinforce each other.

Pluralist approach

Resources to influence power are dispersed among many interests; diverse pressures shape policy.

Brokerage politics

Authorities wheel and deal with various groups to keep them content in a pluralist system.

Marxist/Class approach

Politics shaped by economic classes; the state as an instrument of bourgeois domination and class conflict.

Political psychology and political behaviour

Study of politically related attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and behaviours of individuals.

Rational choice approach

Assumes individuals maximize utility with well-ordered, rational preferences.

Tragedy of the Commons

Rational self-interest leads to depletion of a common resource despite shared interest in preserving it.

Arrival of first French and British settlers

French exploration in the 1500s; New France in the 1600s; Rupert’s Land taken by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670.

Royal Proclamation of 1763

First distinct Canadian constitutional document; created Quebec; laid groundwork for land treaties with Aboriginal peoples; rejected terra nullius.

1791 Constitutional Act

Divided the colony into Upper and Lower Canada with elected assemblies, introducing representative government for those colonies.

Why 1791 governments not democratic

Executive was not accountable to the elected assembly; lack of responsible government.

Durham Report

Aimed to solve assembly–executive relations and recommended responsible government with executive confidence from the elected assembly.

Responsible government (1848)

Executive must retain the confidence of the elected legislature and resign or seek dissolution if defeated.

Sacred principle of responsible government

The executive must maintain the confidence of the elected legislature and resign if defeated.

Three main factors driving Confederation

Economic factors, political deadlock/autonomy, and military concerns.

Which colonies united on July 1, 1867

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Colony of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) united under the British North America Act.

Westminster model

A fusion of powers where the Prime Minister and Cabinet sit in the legislature and drive most legislation.

Party discipline

Rigid party discipline enforced by the PM and Cabinet, especially in majority governments.

Senate vs House of Commons

Senate’s role diminished by appointments; formal powers are similar, but it rarely uses them.

Fusion of powers

Executive and legislative branches are intertwined; typical of the Westminster system.

Macdonald’s preferred vision

A unitary/centralized system; federation chosen to protect provincial autonomy and cultural concerns.

Quasi-federal

The 1867 settlement was not fully federal; provinces had limited autonomy under a strong central government.

Residual powers centralized

The federal government retained broad authority over many areas, centralizing residual powers.

Lingering British control

Continuing British influence: Governor General appointments, reserve powers, disallowance, and foreign/trade policy.

Statute of Westminster (1931)

Granted Dominions full autonomy; British laws no longer apply to Dominions without their request; Dominions could enact extraterritorial laws.

Politics

The practice of influencing the decisions of a collective to act, or not to act, in a particular manner.

Private Issue

An issue claimed to be resolved in the private or voluntary sectors (civil society), separate from government control.

Public Issue

An issue where government action is expressed as necessary or desirable.

Empirical beliefs

Beliefs about how things actually are in the world.

Normative beliefs

Beliefs about how things should be; value-driven judgments.

Power

The ability of one actor to impose its will on another, to get its own way, or to do or get what it wants.

Power (Weber)

The probability that one actor will carry out his own will despite resistance in a social relationship.

Coercion

A type of power where an agent imposes its will through the use or threat of physical force and other punishments, leading to obedience out of fear.

Authority

Power based on legitimacy, where the subject regards the decision-maker as having a right to make a decision, stemming from an accepted obligation to obey.

Influence

The imposition of one's will on another through persuasion and voluntary compliance, without threats or deference to authority.

Government

The set of organizations that make, enforce, and administer collective, public decisions for a society.

Legislative Power

The power to create laws and public policies.

Executive Power

The power to enforce laws and administer public policies.

Judicial Power

The power to interpret and apply the law.

Political System (David Easton's Model)

A framework depicting the core components of government (legislature, executive, judiciary) interacting with the broader environment through inputs, outputs, and feedback effects. It models how inputs (demands) are converted into outputs (laws/policies) and how feedback affects future inputs.

Inputs (Political System)

Demands or pressures from the environment (society) that the political system filters and reacts to.

Outputs (Political System)

Laws and policies enacted by the political system in response to inputs.

Feedback Effects (Political System)

The ways in which laws and policies (outputs) shape the environment and thus influence future inputs on the political system.

Interest Group

An organization that exists to pursue the common interest(s) of its members.

Advocacy Group/Pressure Group

An interest group that aims to accomplish its objectives by trying to influence directly how government power is used.

Political Party

A formal organization that seeks to achieve its objectives through government by contesting elections and winning power.

Cleavages

Deep and persistent divisions in society, such as those involving region, ethnicity, language, and religion, that become politicized.

Identities

Characteristics and experiences that are most important to individuals and groups, often serving as a basis for political demands.

Cultural Hegemony

The process through which dominant beliefs and assumptions about the world reinforce existing patterns of power in a society by taking alternative courses of action off the table.

Social Movement

An informal alliance of individuals and interest groups who aim to achieve their objectives by changing the dominant beliefs of a society.

Agenda-setting

The mass media's ability to influence what people think about by choosing to focus on some issues rather than others.

Infotainment

The practice of using television shows, movies, and songs to communicate points of view to the public.

External/Global Environment

International, multinational, and supranational influences on a national political system, such as other states, international organizations, and transnational corporations.

Institutional Approach

An approach to the study of politics that sees constitutions, laws, and rules as the main substance of politics and government, and institutions as determining much of what happens in the political system.

Law

A rule which is enforceable in court.

Convention

A rule which is widely perceived as binding, but which is not enforceable in court.

Comparative institutional design

Explains policy differences by comparing how institutions concentrate or diffuse power (e.g., Canada vs. the US).

Historical-Institutional Approach

An approach emphasizing the importance of political history and the study of institutions, often incorporating the concept of path dependence.

Path Dependence

The phenomenon where past decisions and institutional arrangements carry forward into the future, making reversal costly even when original reasons no longer apply.

Neo-institutional Approach

A revived form of institutionalism that recognizes the significant influence of institutional design on political outcomes.

State-Based Approaches

Approaches that emphasize the autonomy of state actors (individuals occupying authoritative offices) in shaping the economic and social circumstances of their country.

State Actors

Individuals who occupy offices that authorize them to make and apply decisions binding upon society.

Policy translation by state actors

How state actors convert preferences into public policy by generating information, building support, or imposing will.

Policy Communities

Functional links developed between state forces and private or voluntary sector interests, especially advocacy groups, for mutual influence and protection.

Embedded State

The idea that the political and bureaucratic authorities, while sometimes independent, are deeply intertwined with society and cannot operate with total autonomy.

Elite Accommodation

The idea that political and bureaucratic leaders interact with elites in society to arrive at decisions in their mutual interest.