PLSC 101 Midterm Study Guide Notes

Chapter 1: Foundations of Politics

• Politics: Study of power, governance, and the structure of political institutions.

• Institutional design: Creation of institutions that affect political processes and outcomes.

• Preferences: The individual desires and wants that influence political behavior.

• Unstructured negotiation: A negotiation process without predefined rules, often leading to complex outcomes.

• Authority vs. power: Authority is recognized legitimacy, while power is the ability to influence or coerce.

• Prisoner's dilemma: A situation where individuals acting in their self-interest leads to poor collective outcomes.

• Free-rider problem: Occurs when individuals benefit from resources or services without contributing to their costs.

• Tragedy of the commons: A scenario where shared resources are overused and depleted due to individual self-interest.

• Zero-sum games: Situations in which one party's gain is equivalent to another's loss.

• Transaction costs: The costs associated with making an exchange, including time and resources.

• Conformity costs: The costs associated with compliance to a collective decision instead of individual preferences.

• Public goods vs. collective goods: Public goods are non-excludable and non-rivalrous (e.g., national defense), while collective goods are shared but may be restricted (e.g., park access).

• Principal-agent theory: Examines the relationship where one party (the agent) acts on behalf of another (the principal) and the challenges that arise from differing interests.

• Gridlock: A situation where progress or resolution of issues is stalled, often due to conflicting interests.

• Private goods: Goods that are excludable and rivalrous (e.g., food).

Sample Review Questions

1. Collective action problems: Groups may fail to cooperate due to individual incentives to act in their own interest rather than the group's benefit.

2. Authority vs. power: Affects political institutions by establishing legitimacy (authority) versus coercion (power).

3. Public good example: National defense; differs from private goods like a restaurant meal because it is available to all without exclusion.

4. Transaction and conformity costs: Create trade-offs in political decision-making as reducing one may increase the other.

Chapter 2: The Constitution

• Federalists vs. Antifederalists: Federalists supported a strong central government, while Antifederalists favored states' rights.

• The Great Compromise: Established a bicameral legislature, balancing representation between populous states and smaller ones.

• Colonial home rule: The initial self-governance practices before the revolution influenced the Constitution.

• Shays’s Rebellion: A 1786 uprising that highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

• Articles of Confederation: The first constitution that failed due to lack of central authority.

• Bicameral legislature: Consists of two chambers, the House and the Senate.

• Checks and balances: Systems to prevent any branch of government from gaining too much power.

• Commerce clause: Grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states.

• Electoral College: The mechanism established for the indirect election of the president.

• Factions: Groups with differing interests, discussed by Madison and Hume; factions can lead to conflicts in governance.

Sample Review Questions

5. Antifederalists' opposition: They believed a strong central government would threaten individual liberties and state rights.

6. Great Compromise's role: It shaped Congress by creating a Senate with equal representation and a House based on population.

7. Shays’s Rebellion revealed weaknesses: It demonstrated the inability of the federal government to maintain order and respond to crises.

8. Madison's control of factions: Proposed a system of checks and balances to mitigate their dangers in Federalist No. 10.

Chapter 3: Federalism

• Definition of federalism: A system of government where power is divided between national and regional governments.

• Confederation: A union of independent states with a weak central authority.

• Delegation: The process of assigning responsibilities or powers to another body or level of government.

• Shared (marble cake) federalism: A cooperative approach to federalism with intertwined responsibilities.

• Dual (layer cake) federalism: Distinct separation of powers between state and national governments.

• “Carrots and sticks”: Refer to incentives (carrots) and penalties (sticks) used to encourage compliance with federal laws.

Sample Review Questions

9. Federal system vs. confederation: A federal system has a strong central government, while a confederation consists of independent states with limited central authority.

10. Examples of shared federalism: Medicaid program, federal/state partnerships.

11. National preference for grants-in-aid: Grants-in-aid can influence state policies without direct control, promoting compliance through incentives.

12. Delegation and principal-agent problem: Delegation introduces the risk of the agent (state) acting against the interests of the principal (federal government).

Chapter 6: Congress

• Casework: Activities by members of Congress to assist constituents, crucial for building trust and support.

• Joint committees: Committees with members from both House and Senate focusing on specific issues.

• Types of constituencies: Different groups that members represent, including geographical and legislative.

• Gerrymandering: Manipulating electoral district boundaries for partisan advantages.

• Other committee types: Includes standing, select, and rules committees with specific functions.

• Majority leader’s role: Influences the legislative agenda and aligns party members.

• Discharge petition: A procedure that allows members to bypass committee inaction to bring a bill to the floor.

• Open rule in the House: Permits more extensive debate and amendment of a bill.

Sample Review Questions

13. Importance of casework: It connects constituents to their representatives and builds rapport.

14. Joint committee vs. standing committee: Joint committees have members from both chambers; standing committees focus on specific issues and exist separately in each chamber.

15. Power of discharge petition: Allows rank-and-file members to bring bills to the House floor despite committee opposition.

16. Significance of open rule: Facilitates a more democratic process for discussion and amendments on legislation.

Chapter 7: The Presidency

• Commander in chief role: Grants the president authority over the military.

• “Take Care” clause: Mandates the president to enforce laws and administer governmental affairs faithfully.

• Executive orders: Directives issued by the president to manage federal operations and policies.

• Executive agreements: International agreements made by the president without Senate approval.

• War Powers Act: Limits presidential military authority without congressional consent.

• Veto power and veto threats: Provides the president with significant influence over legislation.

• Going public: Strategy of appealing directly to the public for support on policy initiatives.

• Unilateral action and gridlock: The president may act independently when Congress is divided and unable to pass laws.

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Assists the president in overseeing the federal budget.

• Brownlow report: Recommended improvements to the executive branch, leading to modern presidential organization.

• Chief-of-staff system: Provides the president with a trusted advisor on managing staff and priorities.

• Divided government: Occurs when the presidency and Congress are controlled by different political parties, affecting decision-making.

Sample Review Questions

17. Constitutional basis for commander in chief: Outlined in Article II of the Constitution, empowering the president to lead the military.

18. War Powers Act checks: Requires the president to consult Congress before deploying military forces, limiting unilateral war powers.

19. Veto as a powerful tool: Allows the president to reject legislation, reshaping laws and legislative strategies.

20. Brownlow report significance: Helped modernize the presidency and laid the groundwork for a more organized executive branch.

21. Divided government impact: Adds complexity to governance as differing party priorities necessitate negotiation and compromise.