poly science midtern
1. Foundations of Political Science
Political Science: The study of how governments work, how public policies are created, how political systems run, and how people behave politically.
Normative Political Science: A philosophical way of studying politics that uses logic and moral reasoning to explore the overall meaning, purposes, and goals of politics. It focuses on core questions that cannot be answered by data or evidence alone.
Empirical Political Science: An approach to politics that relies on real-world facts, evidence, and general patterns to describe, explain, and predict political events.
2. International Relations (IR) Theories
Realism: A theory stating that countries naturally try to gain power to keep themselves safe because there is no world police or global government above them. It assumes that individuals naturally seek power and that nations act strictly in their own self-interest.
Neorealism: A theory arguing that countries act the way they do because of how the global political system is built, rather than because of human nature.
Defensive Neorealism: A type of neorealism where countries focus on keeping themselves safe and maintaining a balance of power rather than using aggression to expand.
Offensive Neorealism: A type of neorealism where countries constantly try to gain as much power as possible because they face uncertainty and want to guarantee their survival.
Security Dilemma: A cycle where one country takes steps to make itself safer, which makes rival countries nervous and causes them to build up their own defenses. This pattern can trigger arms races or lead to war as countries decide whether to boost security or strike first.
Liberalism: A theory assuming that people are naturally good and that political institutions can promote social progress, fix injustice, and stop war. It views democracy and capitalism as the best systems.
Neoliberalism: A theory stating that countries choose to cooperate through shared institutions because regular interactions make cooperation beneficial and in their own self-interest.
Democratic Peace Theory: The idea that democratic countries will not go to war with one another, meaning that spreading democracy leads to less war worldwide.
Normative Model: The explanation that democracies avoid fighting each other because they share common values and peaceful rules for solving disagreements.
Structural Model: The explanation that democracies avoid war because internal checks and balances and public opinions slow down the decision to go to war.
Social Constructivism: A theory arguing that concepts and objects in world politics have no fixed or permanent meaning. Instead, political ideas, state goals, and national interests are created through social interactions, language, and cultural norms.
Feminist Critiques of IR Theories: Arguments stating that existing global politics theories are built on male-focused ideas of power. They argue that giving women a larger role in decision-making and economic life makes the world more peaceful, fair, and prosperous.
3. Government, Authority, and Rules
Regime / Government: An organization governed by rules that has the official authority to control choices and enforce decisions over a specific land area and its people.
Authority: The legal permission—such as a written constitution—that gives a government the official right to use power and enforce laws.
Legitimacy: The public belief that a government's right to rule and its actions are moral, proper, and fair.
Traditional Legitimacy: A government's right to rule based on long-standing cultural habits and historic traditions.
Charismatic Legitimacy: A government's right to rule based on a leader's captivating and inspiring personality.
Rational-Legal Legitimacy: A government's right to rule based on clear, fair, and consistent laws.
4. Types of Governments
Democracy: A system of government where power comes directly from the political participation of its citizens.
Presidential Democracy: A democratic system where executive power is kept separate from the lawmaking branch, usually led by a president elected for fixed terms.
Parliamentary Democracy: A democratic system where voters elect representatives, and the Prime Minister leads both the executive branch and the lawmaking legislature.
Authoritarianism: A style of government that demands obedience and heavily restricts personal freedoms without needing or asking for the public's approval.
Hard Authoritarianism: A strict form of authoritarian rule where leaders completely ignore the public and frequently violate human rights.
Soft Authoritarianism: A hybrid form of authoritarian rule that does not rely on elections for approval, but occasionally asks for public feedback and allows small bits of local freedom.
Autocracy: A government where a single person or small group holds absolute power with no checks and balances or citizen input.
Totalitarianism: The most extreme form of authoritarian rule, where the state holds complete control over both public and private life, destroys social diversity, and silences all opposition.
5. Government Branches & Checks and Balances
Checks and Balances: A system designed to divide government power among different branches so no single group can get too powerful or create a tyranny.
Executive Branch: The branch led by the President that enforces laws, directs the military, handles treaties, and manages foreign relations.
Legislative Branch: The lawmaking body made up of the House and Senate that passes bills, controls spending, declares war, and confirms appointments.
Judicial Branch: The court system that interprets laws, handles appellate cases, and makes sure laws follow the constitution