PLSC 113 3
Political participation Actions by individuals intended to influence government and the actions it takes.
Conventional participation Takes place within formal political processes and the law.
Unconventional participation Takes place outside formal political processes or even the law.
Digital activism Political activism that uses social media, email, podcasts and other digital media. Also known as internet activism, online activism and hashtag activism.
Clicktivism A form of political engagement involving online activities such as sharing tweets or trending hashtags or supporting online petitions. Pejoratively known as slacktivism.
Political exclusion The phenomenon by which some – such as the poor, minorities and the unemployed – are discouraged from taking part in collective decision-making because of their marginal position in society.
Paradox of participation The idea that voting is an irrational act given the time and effort involved and the minimal chance that any one voter can make a difference.
Conventional participation Takes place within formal political processes and the law.
Unconventional participation Takes place outside formal political processes or even the law.
Digital activism Political activism that uses social media, email, podcasts and other digital media. Also known as internet activism, online activism and hashtag activism.
Clicktivism A form of political engagement involving online activities such as sharing tweets or trending hashtags or supporting online petitions. Pejoratively known as slacktivism.
Political exclusion The phenomenon by which some – such as the poor, minorities and the unemployed – are discouraged from taking part in collective decision-making because of their marginal position in society.
Paradox of participation The idea that voting is an irrational act given the time and effort involved and the minimal chance that any one voter can make a difference.
study of politics and government based on the idea that individuals work to maximize their benefits and minimize their costs.
Social class A hierarchical division of society based on measures such as wealth, education, occupation, and status.
Economic voting The theory that there is a strong correlation between voter choice and the state of the economy.
Vote buying The provision by parties and candidates of goods and benefits to voters in return for their support at elections.
Issue voter A voter who makes choices at elections based on the policies that most interest them, rather than solely on the basis of sociological or demographic factors.
Secularization The declining space occupied by religion in political, social, and personal life.
Public opinion The range of views held on an issue of public concern by the members of an affected community.
Opinion poll A series of questions asked in a standard way of a systematic sample of the population in order to gauge public opinion.
Sample survey Similar to an opinion poll but involving a more detailed questionnaire. Such surveys are often commissioned by governments or academic researchers.
Clientelism The provision of material goods in return for electoral support.
Patron-client relationship An informal hierarchical relationship between political patrons and their clients, based on favours in return for support.
Mobilized participation Elite-controlled involvement in politics designed to express popular support for the regime.
Political violence Violence perpetrated by people or governments for political ends.
Electoral fraud Illegal interference in the holding of an election.
Electoral system A general term for the rules governing an election, including the structure of the ballot (e.g. how many candidates are listed per party), the electoral formula (how votes are converted to seats) and districting (the division of the territory into separate constituencies).
Single-member plurality An electoral system based on districts that each have one representative and in which the winner is the candidate with the most votes.
Proportional representation An electoral system in which the number of seats won by each of the competing parties is proportional to the number of votes they each win.
Mandate A commission to act on another’s behalf in a specific area. An election mandate is an authorization from the people for the government to follow a particular course.
Distribution requirements Rules specifying how a winning candidate’s votes must be arranged across different regions or social groups.
Referendum A vote of the electorate on a limited issue of public policy such as a constitutional amendment.
Initiative A procedure which allows citizens to initiate a popular vote on a given proposal (a referendum initiative) or to place it on the legislature’s agenda (an agenda initiative).
Voter turnout The number of voters who take part in an election, expressed as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters.
Electoral authoritarianism An arrangement in which a regime gives the appearance of being democratic, and offering voters choice, while concealing its authoritarian qualities.
Ballot stuffing A form of electoral fraud in which a person limited by law to a single vote is able to cast multiple votes in a single booth or to vote in multiple locations.
Political party A group identified by name and ideology that fields candidates at elections in order to win public office and control government.
Party identification Long-term attachment to a particular political party, which helps provide voters with a road map through the world of politics.
Partisan dealignment The weakening bonds between voters and parties.
Cadre party An early type of political party made up of elites, with a loose organization and limited interest in expanding its membership.
Mass party A type of political party drawing in large numbers of people who had not yet been much represented in politics, and funded by its members.
Political cleavage The emergence of groups of voters displaying similar electoral preferences based on national ethnic, religious, linguistic, or social differences.
Catch-all party A political party that works to attract voters with a wide variety of political views and ideologies.
Niche party A political party that appeals to a narrow section of the electorate, usually highlighting non-economic issues such as the environment.
Party system The configuration of political parties, based on their number, variety, relative importance, interactions and the laws that regulate them.
Ideology A system of connected beliefs, a shared view of the world, or a blueprint for how politics, economics and society should be structured.
Iron law of oligarchy States that the organization of political parties – even those formally committed to democracy – becomes dominated by a ruling elite.
Primary election One held before a general election, allowing voters to decide who will run in the name of parties at the general election. A closed primary is limited to a party’s registered supporters.
Cartel party A leading party that exploits its dominance of the political market to establish rules of the game, such as public funding, which reinforces its own strong position.
Interest group A body that works outside government to influence public policy. Also known as a pressure group, an advocacy group, or a non-governmental organization.
Advocacy The process of supporting, promoting or speaking on behalf of a cause or a proposal, usually directed at decision-making institutions.
Civil society The arena outside government within which citizens engage with one another to address public problems of shared concern.
Social movement A movement emerging from society to pursue non-establishment goals through non-institutionalized and often unconventional means.
Pluralism Tolerance for a diversity of ideas, views and values, as often represented in the dispersal of power among a variety of political, economic and social interests.
Lobbying Efforts to influence the decisions made by elected officials or bureaucrats on behalf of individuals, groups or organizations.
Protective group An interest group that seeks selective benefits for its members and insider status with relevant government departments.
Promotional group An interest group that promotes wider issues and causes than is the case with protective groups, and that has an open membership.
Peak association An umbrella organization representing the broad interests of business or labour to government.
Think tank A private organization that conducts research into a given area of policy with the goal of fostering public debate and political change.
Iron triangle A policy-influencing relationship involving interest groups, the bureaucracy and legislative committees, and a three-way trading of information, favours and support.
Issue network A loose and flexible set of interest groups, government departments, legislative committees and experts that work on policy proposals of mutual interest.
Density The proportion of all those eligible to join a group who actually do so. The higher the density, the stronger a group’s authority and bargaining position.
Corporatism An arrangement in which selected interests in a society are formally involved in government and provide support in return for access.
Public policy The positions adopted and the actions taken (or avoided) by governments as they address the needs of society.
Policy cycle A means of understanding public policy by seeing it in terms of a never-ending cycle of stages between agenda-setting and evaluation.
Structuralism An approach to the study of politics and government that emphasizes the relationships among groups and networks within larger systems.
Rational model An approach to understanding policy that assumes the methodical identification of the most efficient means of achieving specific goals.
Cost-benefit analysis An effort to make decisions on the basis of a systematic review of the relative costs and benefits of available options.
Incremental model An approach to policymaking that sees policy evolution as taking the form of small changes following negotiation with affected interests.
Garbage-can model An approach to understanding policymaking that emphasizes its partial, fluid, and disorganized qualities.
Policy style The defining characteristics of public policy in a given community or country, based on a combination of values, habits and traditions.
Policy diffusion The tendency for policy programmes to spread across countries.
Policy convergence The tendency for policies in different countries to become more alike.
Political economy A branch of the social sciences that studies the relationships between markets and the state.
Economics The study of the theory and practice of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
Markets The arenas within which goods and services are bought and sold, with prices determined mainly by supply and demand.
Economic system The interactions and institutions through which a society manages production, distribution and consumption, involving different degrees of interaction between governments and markets.
Free trade The reduction or removal of barriers to trade, creating an open and competitive marketplace, either between two countries or among three or more.
Development The improvement of the economic and social well-being of peoples, communities or states. Often used only in the context of poorer states.
Economics The study of the theory and practice of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
Markets The arenas within which goods and services are bought and sold, with prices determined mainly by supply and demand.
Economic system The interactions and institutions through which a society manages production, distribution and consumption, involving different degrees of interaction between governments and markets.
Free trade The reduction or removal of barriers to trade, creating an open and competitive marketplace, either between two countries or among three or more.
Development The improvement of the economic and social well-being of peoples, communities or states. Often used only in the context of poorer states.
Dependency theory A perspective based on the argument that resources flow from a periphery of poor states to a core of wealthy states, creating political and economic dependency.
Fair trade The idea that producers in poorer countries should earn a bigger share of the profits from the sale of their commodities and be paid a fair price for their work.
Global financial crisis The crisis sparked in 2007 by financial deregulation and speculation in the United States, which spread quickly to Europe.
Capitalism An economic principle based on leaving as many decisions as possible on production, distribution and prices to the free market.
Night-watchman state One which performs limited functions, such as maintaining law and order, providing national defence and enforcing contracts.
Neoliberalism An economic philosophy representing a revival of classical liberalism that has been adopted by conservatives in many democracies since the 1980s.
Class theory A theory asserting that the class hierarchy – determined by the place of individuals in the production process – explains much about political consciousness.
Communism An ideological position which suggests that a class war will lead to power and property being held in common, with the state withering away.
State socialism The political system found in ‘communist’ states, involving wholesale centralization of political and economic control.
Command economy An economic system in which all decisions about production, supply and costs are made by government planners.
Welfare economics The branch of economics that focuses on the effect of the allocation of goods and services on overall social welfare.
Convergence thesis The idea that the political economies of high-income economies are adopting a common format based on a liberal, pro-market response while also restraining welfare spending and encouraging policies to expand the workforce.
Welfare state One that makes provision through the law for those in need, such as the unemployed, the poor, the unwell and the elderly.
Social security A collective term for welfare programmes targeted at people with inadequate income or no income.
Resource curse A phenomenon in which a state that is well endowed in a particular natural resource, or a limited selection of resources, experiences lower economic growth thanks to unbalanced policy, extensive corruption and internal conflict.
State capitalism A system in which the state wields a high degree of control over the economy, taking responsibility for many of the functions and activities that would be left – in a capitalist system – to the free market.
Rent-seeking The use of a resource that results in the transfer of wealth, rather than the creation of new wealth or benefits to society.
Rentier state One which earns most or all of its national revenues from exporting raw materials or leasing natural resources to foreign companies.