Introduction to Political Science Midterm #2

Descriptive Representation

a facet of political representation that refers to which social groups are represented in the legislature; also known as mirror representation

District

the territorial area that an elected official represents in the legislature; also called a constituency or riding

District magnitude

the number of seats available in the electoral district; abbreviated as the letter “m”

Electoral rules

the laws that set forth how voters choose their elected representatives and how votes are turned into seats in the national legislature

Gender parity

when the gender quota mandates half men and half women

Plurality

referring to the most, not the majority; in single-member districts, candidates win with the most votes

Political representation

a multifaceted concept describing who is present in a national legislature and what they do

Substantive representation

a facet of political representation that refers to which interests are manifested during the lawmaking process as well as the extent to which voters’ policy preferences and interests are promoted by their representatives

Symbolic representation

a facet of political representation that refers to how citizens’ and voters’ behaviors and attitudes change in response to descriptive representation

Apportionment

is the process of allocating legislative seats, particularly in the U.S. House of Representatives, among states based on population changes measured by the decennial census. It ensures roughly equal representation by dividing 435 seats among 50 states, forcing a re-allocation every ten years

Duverger’s law

Proportional representation leads to a multi-party system. Single-member district leads to a two-party system.

Gerrymandering

redrawing district boundaries to favor a party

Malapportionment

drawing maps unfairly, gerrymandering

Minority groups

Underrepresented in the political sphere

Proportional representation

Multiple members per district, all go up for election at the same time

Redistricting

redrawing district boundaries

Representation

is the process where individuals or groups (representatives) act on behalf of others (the represented) to influence or make authoritative decisions, laws, and policies. It acts as a crucial link between citizens and government, enabling democracy by making public voices present in decision-making.

Single-member district

One member per district, usually one person up for election at a time 

Decolonialization

the political and economic processes of removing formal colonial governance by Global North countries of Global South countries (also called decolonialization); often also refers to transformation in the informal and formal knowledge and education systems so that the formal colonial governing power is not merely replaced with neocolonial exercise of economic power

Ethnocentric bias

the tendency to evaluate foreign political systems, behaviors, and ideologies through the lens of one’s own culture, wrongly assuming one's own group is superior

Explanatory unit

the major relevant entity used to explain patterns of results

Historically marginalized groups

groups whose interests, grievances, and voices risk being overlooked in politics as a result of historical and structural processes of marginalization

Inequality regimes

a broad set of political practices, processes, actions, and meanings that (re)produce power hierarchies and social inequalities in relation to social class, gender, race, ethnicity, age, and so on

Logic of appropriateness

action is driven by rules, norms, and identities of what is considered rightful, expected, and legitimate in a given situation, meant to explain human decision-making

Methodological diversity

the intentional use of varied research methods—such as qualitative case studies, quantitative data analysis, surveys, and experimental designs—to analyze political phenomena

Observational units

the major relevant entity used in data collection and analysis

Political culture

sets of beliefs and values people have about politics that are related to how they think about politics, the political values they cherish, whether they believe politicians can be trusted, how they relate to the political system, and how they define and express their political identities

Unit of analysis

the major relevant entity under study

Case study

compare a small number of units in depth

Description

detailed, systematic cataloging of political institutions and phenomena → good data helps us to understand the political world

Explanation

why/when/where/under what circumstances are political events likely to occur → inference: using facts to learn something about facts we do not know

Political culture

Broad set of common beliefs and values people have about politics. Thoughts, values, beliefs about how the political world works in a given locale.

Political institutions

Sets of rules that make up the political game. Can be formal or informal

Prediction

using what we know of past events to predict future occurrences → predicting human behavior is difficult

Quantitative study

compare a large number of units to identify general trends

Most similar systems

Cases share similarities → Different outcomes

Most different systems

Cases are dissimilar → Similar outcomes

Bureaucracy

a subsidiary of the executive, tasked with implementing and executing the laws of the state

Cabinet

the set of appointed officials (often referred to as secretaries or ministers) in a government who oversee specific policies such as healthcare, defense, and the like

Coalition

a partnership between parties who agree to govern together because neither party has a majority on its own

Competitive-authoritarianism

political regimes where democratic institutions are put in place but authoritarian political leaders consistently undermine these institutions to stay in power

Elite networks

informal, interconnected structures of high-ranking individuals—such as politicians, corporate leaders, and military officials—who use personal relationships to influence political, economic, and policy outcomes

Executive

the branch of governments tasked with implementing and executing the laws and policies in a state

Head of government

oversees the day-to-day functions of the government

Head of state

the country’s symbolic representative

One-party rule

one party possesses overwhelming control over the political process; in general, other parties do exist, but they have limited power and are kept in check by the dominant party

Parliamentary system

a government system where the head of government is chosen from the legislature by the ruling party and also serves as the head of state

President

the chief executive in a presidential democracy; serves as both the head of state and the head of government

Presidential system

a government system where the legislative and executive branch have separation of powers; unlike in parliamentary systems, the legislature is unable to remove the government

Prime Minister

the chief executive in a parliamentary democracy; serves as head of state and typically is also head of the largest party in parliament

Semi-presidential system

a mix between pure parliamentary and pure presidential systems. The legislature elects the head of government and has the ability to remove the government from office, but there is also a popularly elected head of state

Separation of powers

a system in which different branches of the government possess separate and independent powers, so no specific political institution has too much power; this is also known as checks and balances and is typically divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary

Vote of (no) confidence

constitutionally mandated authority to remove the government through a vote of the legislature

Civil service

career civilian government employees, people who work in the Department of State, not elected, and continue to work regardless of party

Electoral college

means by which the US president is elected, 538 votes (435 House seats, 100 Senate seats, 3 for DC from Amendment 23), and States decide how their electors are assigned

Red tape

excessive bureaucracy, originated in 16th century spain, wrapping important documents with red tape instead of string

Spoils system

is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party

Bicameral legislature

legislative branches with two chambers as opposed to a unicameral legislature, where there is only one chamber

Clientelist policies

are similar to targeted policies in that they target a specific group in society but are different in that a representative promotes this policy in exchange for that group’s support during election time

Constituency service

services a legislator provides to constituents who are seeking assistance, such as helping them navigate bureaucratic processes; also known as casework

Gatekeeping authority

the authority to block legislation from advancing to the chamber floor

Legislative agenda

what bills will be heard on the chamber floor, when they will be discussed, and if they will come before the chamber for a vote

Legislator

the individuals elected to hold office in the legislature

Legislature

“a body created to approve measures that will form the law of the land”

Malapportionment

apportionment is the ratio between the number of residents in the district and the number of representatives from that district in the legislature; ________ happens when the votes of voters in some territorial sectors count more than others – that is, when the ratio between the residents and representatives is significantly different from district to district (as is the case in the US Senate)

Negative agenda control

the ability to prevent bills from being heard on the chamber floor, typically because they are blocked in the committee process

Seniority

legislators who have served the most terms in office are said to have legislative seniority

Unicameral legislature

legislative branches with only one chamber as opposed to a bicameral legislature, where there are two chambers

Agenda setting

refers to the process by which different stakeholders define and discern which problems the government can realistically and efficiently solve

Electoral cycle

refers to the recurring sequence of stages that occur in a democratic election process. It includes everything from pre-election activities (like campaigning and voter registration), to the election itself, and then the post-election period (such as counting votes, announcing results, and transferring power). Pre election → election period → post election

Executive power

implementing laws

Federal system

national and regional governments each have powers outlined in the constitution

Fusion of powers

as in a parliamentary system, executive and legislative power are fused because the cabinet and PM are part of the legislative branch and responsible to it

Issue ownership

is the idea that certain political parties or candidates are widely trusted by voters to handle specific issues better than others. In simple terms: voters associate particular issues with certain parties

Judicial power

interpreting laws

Legislative power

creating laws

Limited government

the principle that government power is bounded by constitutional rules and laws

Median voter theorem

states that in a majority-rule election with two candidates, both candidates will tend to adopt policy positions close to the preferences of the median voter (the voter in the ideological middle) in order to win the most votes. It assumes voters’ preferences can be placed along a single spectrum (like liberal to conservative), and that candidates aim to maximize support by appealing to the center.

Nation

a group of people with a shared history and identity

Nation-state

the idea that states should map onto nations

Polarization

refers to the process by which political opinions and attitudes become more extreme and divided, especially between opposing parties or ideological groups. As polarization increases, there is less overlap in beliefs, making compromise and cooperation more difficult

Programmatic policy type

affects large segments of the population

Targeted policy type

affects specific constituencies

Clientelistic policy type

Affect specific constituency in exchange for support

Prospective voting

assess what candidates say they will do and vote accordingly

Retrospective voting

assess how the incumbent has done and vote accordingly

Separation of powers

as in a presidential system, executive and legislative power are separate because the cabinet and president are not part of the legislative branch

Speaker

highly desirable, most powerful position (agenda setting)

State

an entity that is sovereign over a territory; requires recognition of other states

Unitary system

regional units are subordinate to national legislature

Voting bloc

is a group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections.

⅗ clause

is an example where a constitutional text reflected, enshrined, and supported a system of exploitation and abuse of its Black population. This clause allowed states to count enslaved persons as part of the population for the purposes of seat apportionment in the US Congress (the more people a state has, the more seats it gets in the House of Representatives).

Appellate jurisdiction

when higher courts have the authority to hear appeals from lower-level courts

Caste system

a rigid form of social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy (marrying within the group), and limited social mobility, often dictating occupation and social interaction. It is a hierarchical social structure that organizes individuals into rigid classes, preventing social mobility based on familial lineage

Civil law

a legal system in which the law is a strongly constructed, detailed entity created by a legislature or other lawmaking political institution. Judges apply the law rather than interpreting it. Is the most common legal system around the world.

Codified

an arrangement of information in a logical order that others can follow (written down as law)

Collegial politics

how judges interact with their colleagues

Common law

a legal system in which the laws are less detailed and in which judges have considerable room for interpreting the law. Most Anglo-American states have common law systems

Constitutional courts

in many states, these are the only courts that have the power of judicial review

Constitutionalism

a system in which constitutions place limitations on government power