AP Government Unit 1 Chapter 1 Vocabulary

Democracy

The rule of many

Participatory (Direct) Democracy

A government in which all or most citizens participate directly

Representative Democracy

A government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote

Pluralist Democracy

A political structure that views all competition among all affected interests as something that shapes public policy

Elite Democracy

A model of representative democracy where political power is concentrated in a small group of wealthy decision-makers, and ordinary citizens mostly participate by voting for these elites rather than by making the policies themselves

Class View

View that the government is dominated by capitalists

Power Elite View

View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside of government

Bureaucratic View

View that the government is dominated by appointed officials

Pluralist View

View that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy

Creedal Passion View

View that morally impassioned elites drive important political changes

Political Agenda

Issues that people believe require governmental action

Policy Entrepreneurs

Activists in or out of government who pull together a political majority on behalf of unorganized interests

Limited Government

One of the four democratic ideals with the idea that a government’s power cannot be absolute. The people hand over some freedom through the social contract, but the government has to stay inside the lines that the Constitution draws

Natural Rights

The rights you have by just being human

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the people are the ultimate source of government power

Republicanism

The idea that government power flows from the people, but it gets exercised by representatives that the people choose

Social Contract

The idea that government is a deal. You hand over parts of your total freedom, and in return, the government keeps order and protects the rights you keep