Government Key Terms Chpt 1

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Basic terms of Government chapter one
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Flashcards by slytherinjunky, updated more than 1 year ago
slytherinjunky
Created by slytherinjunky over 8 years ago
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Question Answer
Government The institutions that make public policy decisions for a society
Collective Goods If they exist, by their very nature they cannot be denied to anyone and therefore must be shared with everyone. E.g. Access to highways (Provided by the gov't)
Politics The process determining the leaders we select and the policies they pursue. Politics produces authoritative decisions about public issues.
Political Participation All the activities by which citizens attempt to influence the selection of political leaders and the policies they pursue. Voting is the most common means of political participation in a democracy. Other examples include contacting public officials, protest, and civil disobedience.
Single-issue groups Groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance
Policy-making system The process by which policy comes into being and evolves. People's interest, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policy makers. These issues shape policy, which in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems and concerns.
Linkage institutions The political channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the policy agenda. In the U.S., linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
Policy Agenda The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people involved in politics at a point in time.
Political Issue An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it.
Policymaking Institutions The branches of the government charged with taking action on political issues. The U.S. constitution established 3 policymaking institutions- congress, the presidency, and the courts.
Public Policy A choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem.
Policy Impacts The effects a policy has on people and problems. Impacts are analyzed to see how well a policy has met its goal and at what cost.
Democracy A system of selecting policy makers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public's preferences.
Majority Rule A fundamental principle of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives requires that the majority's desire be respected.
Minority Rights A principle of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities.
Representation A basic principle of democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.
Pluralism A theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policy making process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually dominating. Pluralists tend to believe that as a result, public interest generally prevails.
Elitism A theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.
Hyperpluralism A theory of American democracy contending the groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened.
Policy Gridlock A condition when interests conflict and no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy, so nothing gets done.
Political Culture An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a year in a nation.
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