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1. Foundations of Political Science

Political Science: The study of how governments work, how laws and policies are made, how political systems operate, and how people act in politics.

Normative Political Science: A way of studying politics that focuses on what should happen. It uses logic and moral reasoning to think about the purpose, goals, and meaning of politics. These questions cannot be answered using facts and data alone.

Empirical Political Science: A way of studying politics that uses real-world facts, evidence, and data to describe, explain, and predict political events and behavior.

2. International Relations (IR) Theories

Realism: A theory that says countries mainly try to gain power and protect themselves because there is no world government or police force to protect them. It assumes countries act mainly in their own self-interest.

Neorealism: A theory that says countries behave the way they do because of the structure of the international system, rather than mainly because of human nature.

Defensive Neorealism: A type of neorealism where countries mainly try to stay safe and maintain a balance of power instead of constantly trying to expand their power.

Offensive Neorealism: A type of neorealism where countries try to gain as much power as possible because they cannot be sure other countries will not threaten them. More power can help guarantee their survival.

Security Dilemma: A situation where one country takes steps to protect itself, but other countries see those actions as a threat and build up their own military. This can create an arms race and possibly lead to war.

Liberalism: A theory that believes people can work together and that political institutions can improve society, reduce unfairness, and prevent war. It generally supports democracy and capitalism.

Neoliberalism: A theory that says countries cooperate because working together can benefit everyone. International organizations and repeated cooperation can make countries more likely to work together.

Democratic Peace Theory: The idea that democratic countries are unlikely to fight wars against other democratic countries. Therefore, having more democracies can help reduce war.

Normative model: shared values, norms of governmental processes when working with

other countries

• Structural: checks and balances are present, public consideration, slower process because

of both

Social Constructivism: A theory that says political ideas, national interests, and relationships between countries are not naturally fixed. Instead, they are shaped by society, culture, language, and interactions between people and countries.

Feminist Critiques of IR Theories: Arguments that traditional theories of international relations focus too much on male experiences and ideas about power. Feminist theories argue that including more women in political and economic decision-making can create a more peaceful, fair, and successful world.

3. Government, Authority, and Rules

Regime / Government: An organization that uses rules and official power to make decisions and enforce laws over a specific area and its people.

Authority: The official or legal right a government has to use power and enforce laws. This can come from something like a constitution.

Legitimacy: The belief among the people that a government has the right to rule and that its actions are fair, proper, and acceptable.

Traditional Legitimacy: The belief that a government has the right to rule because of long-standing traditions, customs, and history.

Charismatic Legitimacy: The belief that a government or leader has the right to rule because people are strongly attracted to and inspired by the leader's personality.

Rational-Legal Legitimacy: The belief that a government has the right to rule because it follows clear, fair, and consistent laws.

4. Types of Governments

Democracy: A system of government where citizens have political power by voting and taking part in government.

Presidential Democracy: A democracy where the president leads the executive branch and is separate from the lawmaking branch. The president is usually elected for a set amount of time.

Parliamentary Democracy: A democracy where citizens elect representatives to the legislature, and the Prime Minister leads the government and works with the legislature.

Authoritarianism: A type of government where leaders demand obedience and limit people's freedoms without needing strong public approval.

Hard Authoritarianism: A strict form of authoritarian government where leaders have strong control, ignore public demands, and often violate people's rights.

Soft Authoritarianism: A less extreme form of authoritarian government that may allow some public feedback and limited freedoms but does not depend on free elections for legitimacy.

Autocracy: A government where one person or a small group has most or all of the political power, with very few checks on that power and little citizen involvement.

Totalitarianism: The most extreme form of authoritarian government. The state tries to control almost every part of people's lives, including politics, society, and sometimes private life, while eliminating opposition.

5. Government Branches & Checks and Balances

Checks and Balances: A system that divides government power among different branches so that no single branch becomes too powerful or turns into a tyranny.

Executive Branch: The branch led by the President. It enforces laws, leads the military, manages foreign relations, and handles treaties.

Legislative Branch: The branch made up of the House of Representatives and Senate. It creates laws, controls government spending, can declare war, and approves certain presidential appointments.

Judicial Branch: The court system that interprets laws, reviews court cases, and decides whether laws and government actions follow the Constitution.