Political Terms and Concepts: Parties, Elections, and Party Organizations, Quizzes of Local Government Studies

Download Political Terms and Concepts: Parties, Elections, and Party Organizations and more Quizzes Local Government Studies in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 party competition DEFINITION 1 battle of the parties for control of public offices TERM 2 linkage institutions DEFINITION 2 the channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda; include elections, political parties, interest groups, & the media TERM 3 rational-choice theory DEFINITION 3 attempts to explain the actions of voters/politicians by assuming that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives TERM 4 party image DEFINITION 4 the voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism TERM 5 party identification DEFINITION 5 a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other TERM 6 ticket-splitting DEFINITION 6 voting w/ one party for one office and the other party for another office TERM 7 party machines DEFINITION 7 a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern TERM 8 patronage DEFINITION 8 one of the key inducements used by party machines; a patronage job, promotion, or contract is given for political reasons rather than for merit/competence alone TERM 9 national convention DEFINITION 9 the meeting of party delegates every 4 years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform TERM 10 national committee DEFINITION 10 one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions; composed of representatives from the states and territories