Glossary of Political Science Terms, Quizzes of Political Science

Download Glossary of Political Science Terms and more Quizzes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Agenda Power DEFINITION 1 control over what a group will consider for discussion TERM 2 autocracy DEFINITION 2 An autocracy is a form of government in which one person possesses unlimited power. TERM 3 authoritarian government DEFINITION 3 recognizes no formal limits but may be still under limits of other social institutions. TERM 4 by-product theory DEFINITION 4 The idea that groups provide members with private benefits to attract membership. The possibility of group collective action emerges as a consequence. TERM 5 Collective action DEFINITION 5 the pooling of resources and the coordination of effort and activity by a group of people (often a large one) to achieve common goals. TERM 6 Constitutional government DEFINITION 6 system of rule in which formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of the government TERM 7 delegation DEFINITION 7 the transmission of authority to some other official or body for the latters use (though often with the right of review and revision). TERM 8 democracy DEFINITION 8 a system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the selection of key public officials. TERM 9 free riding DEFINITION 9 enjoying the benefits of some good or action while letting others bear the costs. TERM 10 Goverment DEFINITION 10 the institutions and procedures through which a land and its people are ruled. TERM 21 Bill of rights DEFINITION 21 the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791. It ensures certain rights and liberties to the people. TERM 22 Checks and balances DEFINITION 22 the mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches. TERM 23 expressed power DEFINITION 23 the notion that the Constitution grants to the federal government only those powers specifically named in its text. TERM 24 federalism DEFINITION 24 the system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments TERM 25 great compromise DEFINITION 25 an agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population. TERM 26 judicial review DEFINITION 26 the power of the courts to declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional. The Supreme Court asserted this power in Marbury v. Madison (1803). TERM 27 necessary and proper clause DEFINITION 27 Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, which enumerates the powers of Congress and provides Congress with the authority to make all laws necessary and proper to carry them out; also referred to as the elastic clause. TERM 28 supremacy clause DEFINITION 28 a clause of Article VI of the Constitution, that states that all laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme laws of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision. TERM 29 tyranny DEFINITION 29 oppressive government that employs the cruel and unjust use of power and authority. TERM 30 writ of habeas corpus DEFINITION 30 a court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention. It is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion TERM 31 categorical grants-in-aid DEFINITION 31 funds given by Congress to states and localities and that are earmarked by law for specific categories, such as education or crime prevention. TERM 32 checks and balances DEFINITION 32 the mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches. TERM 33 commerce clause DEFINITION 33 Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which delegates to Congress the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes. This clause was interpreted by the Supreme Court to favor national power over the economy. TERM 34 concurrent powers DEFINITION 34 the authority possessed by both state and national governments, such as the power to levy taxes. TERM 35 devolution DEFINITION 35 the policy of removing a program from one level of government by deregulating it or passing it down to a lower level, such as from the national government to the state and local governments. TERM 46 full faith and credit clause DEFINITION 46 the provision in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring that each state normally honors the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state. TERM 47 grants-in-aid DEFINITION 47 a general term for funds given by Congress to state and local governments. TERM 48 implied powers DEFINITION 48 powers derived from the necessary and proper clause (Article I, Section 8) of the Constitution. Such powers are not specifically expressed but are impied through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers. legislative supremacy the preeminent position assigned to Congress by the Constitution. TERM 49 privileges and immunities DEFINITION 49 the provision in Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution stating that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give its own residents special privileges. TERM 50 necessary and proper clause DEFINITION 50 Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which enumerates the powers of Congress and provides Congress with the authority to make all laws necessary and proper to carry them out; also referred to as the elastic clause. TERM 51 police power DEFINITION 51 the power reserved to the government to regulate the health, safety, and morals of its citizens. TERM 52 affirmative action DEFINITION 52 Affirmative action refers to policies that take "race, color, religion, sex or national origin" into consideration. TERM 53 civil rights DEFINITION 53 the legal or moral claims that citizens are entitled to make on the government. TERM 54 de facto segregation DEFINITION 54 racial segregation that is not a direct result of law or government policy but is, instead, a reflection of residential patterns, income distributions, or other social factors. TERM 55 de jure segregation DEFINITION 55 racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy. TERM 56 eminent domain DEFINITION 56 the right of the government to take private property for public use, with reasonable compensation awarded for the property. TERM 57 exclusionary rule DEFINITION 57 the ability of courts to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. TERM 58 prior restraint DEFINITION 58 an effort by a government agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; censorship. In the United States, the courts forbid this except under the most extraordinary circumstances. TERM 59 standing committee DEFINITION 59 a permanent legislative committee that considers legislation within its designated subject area; the basic unit of deliberation in the House and Senate. TERM 60 professional legislature DEFINITION 60 a legislature whose members serve full time for multiple terms. TERM 71 bureaucracy DEFINITION 71 the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel. TERM 72 bureaucratic drift DEFINITION 72 the oft-observed phenomenon of bureaucratic implementation that produces policy more to the liking of the bureaucracy than faithful to the original intention of the legislation that created it, but without triggering a political reaction from elected officials. TERM 73 supreme court DEFINITION 73 the highest court in a particular state or in the United States. This court primarily serves an appellate function. . TERM 74 trial court DEFINITION 74 the first court to hear a criminal or civil case TERM 75 writ of certiorari DEFINITION 75 writ of certiorari a formal request by an appellant to have the Supreme Court review a decision of a lower court. It is from a Latin word meaning to make more certain. TERM 76 stare decisis DEFINITION 76 literally, let the decision stand. The doctrine whereby a previous decision by a court applies as a precedent in similar cases until that decision is overruled. TERM 77 illusion of salience DEFINITION 77 the impression conveyed by polls that something is important to the public when it actually is not. TERM 78 judicial activism DEFINITION 78 the judicial philosophy that posits that the Court should see beyond the text of the Constitution or a statute to consider broader societal implications for its decisions. TERM 79 judicial restraint DEFINITION 79 the judicial philosophy whose adherents refuse to go beyond the text of the Constitution in interpreting its meaning. TERM 80 Australian ballot DEFINITION 80 an electoral format that presents the names of all the candidates for any given office on the same ballot. Introduced at the end of the eighteenth century, this ballot replaced the partisan ballot and facilitated split-ticket voting. TERM 81 Duvergers law DEFINITION 81 law of politics, formalized by Maurice Duverger, stating that plurality-rule electoral systems will tend to have two political parties. TERM 82 initiative DEFINITION 82 a process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for public vote. TERM 83 closed primary DEFINITION 83 a primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of only those candidates of the party in which they have been enrolled for a period of time before primary day. TERM 84 open primary DEFINITION 84 a primary election in which voters can choose on the day of the primary which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election. TERM 85 political action committees (PACs) DEFINITION 85 private groups that raise and distribute funds for use in election campaigns. TERM 96 contributory program DEFINITION 96 a social program financed in whole or in part by taxation or other mandatory contributions by its present or future recipients. The most important example is Social Security, which is financed by a payroll tax. TERM 97 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) DEFINITION 97 a program providing a minimum monthly income to people who pass a means test and are sixty-five years old or older, blind, or disabled. It is financed from general revenues that are not Social Security contributions. TERM 98 noncontributory program DEFINITION 98 a social program that assists people based on demonstrated need rather than contributions they have made; also known as a public assistance program. Social Security a contributory welfare program into which working Americans place a percentage of their wages and from which they receive cash benefits after retirement. TERM 99 preventive war DEFINITION 99 the policy of striking first when a nation fears that a foreign foe is contemplating hostile action. . TERM 100 United Nations (UN) DEFINITION 100 an organization of nations founded in 1945 to be a channel for negotiation and a means of settling international disputes peaceably. It has had frequent successes in providing a forum for negotiation and on some occasions a means of preventing international conflicts from spreading. On a number of occasions, it has been a convenient cover for U.S. foreign-policy goals TERM 101 World Trade Organization (WTO) DEFINITION 101 the international trade agency promoting free trade that grew out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. TERM 102 non-state actor DEFINITION 102 a group other than a nation-state that attempts to play a role in the international system. Terrorist groups are one type of this. TERM 103 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) DEFINITION 103 a trade treaty among the United States, Canada, and Mexico to lower and eliminate tariffs among the three countries. TERM 104 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) DEFINITION 104 a treaty organization, comprising the United States, Canada, and most of Western Europe, formed in 1948 to counter the perceived threat from the Soviet Union. TERM 105 Napoleonic role DEFINITION 105 a strategy pursued by a powerful nation to prevent aggressive actions against it by improving the internal state of affairs of a particular country, even if this means encouraging revolution in that country. TERM 106 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) DEFINITION 106 The international trade organization, in existence from 1947 to 1995, that set many of the rules governing international trade. TERM 107 Holy Alliance role DEFINITION 107 a strategy pursued by a super-power to prevent any change in the existing distribution of power among nation-states, even if this requires intervention into the internal affairs of another country in order to keep a ruler from being overthrown. TERM 108 International Monetary Fund (IMF) DEFINITION 108 an institution established in 1944 that provides loans and facilitates international monetary exchange. TERM 109 bilateral treaty DEFINITION 109 a treaty made between two nations. TERM 110 Bush Doctrine DEFINITION 110 foreign policy based on the idea that the United States should take preemptive action against threats to its national security.