Government and Political Science Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core political science terms, governmental structures, foundational philosophical concepts, and historical context.

Government

The people and system that make and enforce the rules for a country or community.

Federal Government

The national government that runs the whole country, sharing power with the state governments.

Federalism

The idea that power is split between the national government and the state/local governments, where neither one has total control.

Republic

A country where the people vote for leaders to represent them, instead of having a king.

Function of Government

The job a government does, such as keeping order, defending the country, and providing services.

Anarchy

No government, no laws, total chaos, where everyone does whatever they want and the strongest win.

Sovereignty

A government's absolute power to rule its own country, with nobody else telling it what to do.

State (political science)

An independent country that has land, people, a government, and sovereignty (e.g., France, Mexico, Japan).

Nation

A group of people who share culture, language, or history, but do not have to have their own country (e.g., the Kurds).

Social Contract

An unwritten deal where people give up some freedom, and in exchange the government keeps them safe and orderly; if the government breaks the deal, people can replace it.

Natural Rights

Basic rights everyone has just by being human, which John Locke identified as Life, Liberty, and Property.

Divine Right Theory

The old idea that a king's power comes straight from God, so disobeying the king is like disobeying God.

Enlightenment

A 1600s–1700s movement where thinkers advocated using reason, protecting people's rights, and preventing kings from having total power.

Limited Government

A government that has limits and cannot just do whatever it wants because laws and the Constitution hold it back.

Representative Government

A system where people elect someone to make laws and decisions for them instead of voting on everything themselves.

Separation of Powers

Splitting government into 3 branches (legislative, executive, judicial) so no one group gets too much power.

Constitution

A written rulebook that sets up the government, explains how it works, and limits what it can do.

Common Law

Law based on past court decisions and traditions, not just written rules, where judges follow what earlier judges decided.

Levy

A word meaning collect, usually used with taxes to mean making people pay a tax.

Parliament

England's lawmaking group, which has two parts: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

American Revolution

The war (1775–1783) where the American colonies fought to break free from England and became the U.S.