ch 1 ap gov vocab

government

the institutions through which public policies are made for a society

collective goods

goods and services (ex. clean air and water) that by their nature cannot be denied to anyone

politics

the process of determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue; produces authoritative decisions about public policies/issues

political participation

all the activities by which citizens attempt to influence the selection of political leaders and policies they pursue (ex. voting, protest)

single issue groups

groups that have a NARROW INTEREST on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance

policymaking systems

process by which policy comes into being and evolves

(interest, problems, concerns → political issue → shape policy and impacts people → more problems/concerns arise)

linkage institutions

political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on policy agenda (ex. elections, political parties)

policy agenda

issues that attract serious attention of public officials and other people involved in politics at a point in time

political issue

issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it

policymaking institutions

branches of government charged with taking action on political issues (ex. congress, presidency, courts, and bureaucracy (4th due to power))

public policy

a choice that government (action) makes in response to a political issue

• congressional statute: law passed by congress

• presidential action: decision by president

• court decision: opinion by supreme court

• budgetary choices: legislative enactment of tax/expenditure (spending funds)

• regulation: agency adoption of regulation/rule

policy impacts

effects a policy has on people/problems

democracy

system of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences

majority rule

fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory → choosing among alternatives requires that majority’s desire be respected

minority rights

principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities

representation

basic principles of traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers

pluralism

theory of american democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interest, with no single group usually dominating

elitism

theory of american democracy contending that an upper class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization

hyperpluralism

theory of american democracy contending that groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened

policy gridlock

condition that occurs when interests conflicts and no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy, so nothing gets done

political culture

overall set of values widely shared within a society

gross domestic product (gdp)

sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a year in a nation