American Gov & Politics Midterm Review PDF

**Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy** Key Concepts and Definitions - **Autocracy**: A system where power is in the hands of a single ruler, often a monarch. - **Democracy**: A system where power lies with the people. - **Democratization**: The difficult process of establishing a...

**Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy** Key Concepts and Definitions - **Autocracy**: A system where power is in the hands of a single ruler, often a monarch. - **Democracy**: A system where power lies with the people. - **Democratization**: The difficult process of establishing a democracy. - **Elite Theory**: The theory that a small, wealthy group controls the government's most important decisions. - **Interest Group**: A group that seeks to influence public policy. - **Majoritarian Model of Democracy**: Governance by the majority of the people. - **Majority Rule**: A principle requiring over 50% agreement. - **Minority Rights**: Rights protecting individuals and groups outside the majority population. - **Oligarchy**: Power concentrated in the hands of a small, elite segment. - **Participatory Democracy**: A blend of direct and representative democracy. - **Pluralist Model of Democracy**: Governance by competing interest groups. - **Procedural Democratic Theory**: Focuses on processes like universal participation, political equality, majority rule, and responsiveness to public opinion. - **Representative Democracy**: Citizens elect officials to represent them. - **Substantive Democratic Theory**: Stresses the incorporation of certain principles into government policies. - **Universal Participation**: The principle that everyone in a democracy should participate in government decision-making. **The Constitution** Foundational Elements - **Articles of Confederation**: The initial governing document of the US, which failed due to the need for unanimous support. - **Bill of Rights**: The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, listing basic civil liberties. - **Checks and Balances**: Mechanisms that give each government branch some control and scrutiny over the others to prevent power concentration. - **Confederation**: A loose affiliation of independent states. - **Declaration of Independence**: The document that articulated the American colonies\' separation from Great Britain. - **Electoral College**: A body of electors established to elect the President and Vice President, aimed at preventing majoritarian dominance. - **Enumerated Powers**: Powers expressly granted to Congress by the Constitution. - **Federalism**: A system dividing power between central and regional governments. - **Great Compromise**: The agreement for a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. - **Implied Powers**: Powers necessary to execute enumerated powers. - **Judicial Review**: The power to declare congressional and presidential acts unconstitutional. - **Republicanism**: Government power resides in elected representatives and is exercised on behalf of the people. - **Separation of Powers**: Distribution of lawmaking, law-enforcing, and law-interpreting functions across separate branches of government. **Federalism** Types and Applications - **Block Grants**: Federal funds provided for broad purposes, allowing recipient discretion on spending. - **Categorical Grants**: Federal funding for specific purposes, either formula-based or project-based. - **Coercive Federalism**: The national government imposing policy on states through regulations, mandates, and restraints. - **Commerce Clause**: Grants Congress power to regulate interstate commerce. - **Competitive Grants**: Federal funding awarded based on applications from eligible recipients. - **Cooperative Federalism**: Suggests shared powers between state and national government, akin to a \"marble cake\". - **Dual Federalism**: Asserts a clear division between national and state governments, resembling a \"layer cake\". - **Elastic Clause**: Provides Congress the means to execute its enumerated powers. - **Mandate**: Orders from the national government requiring state or local compliance with certain standards. - **Sovereignty**: Supreme power or authority. - **States' Rights**: The idea that rights not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states. **Public Opinion and Political Socialization** Core Concepts - **Civic Education**: School curricula aimed at preparing students for democratic engagement. - **Issue Framing**: How politicians or groups present an issue to shape public perception. - **Operational Ideology**: The ideological label fitting one's policy positions. - **Opinion Polling**: Estimating public opinion through sampling. - **Political Socialization**: The process of acquiring political values. - **Public Opinion**: Collective attitudes of citizens on issues. **The Media** Influences and Dynamics - **Attentive Policy Elites**: Individuals highly engaged in specific policy areas. - **Federal Communications Commission (FCC)**: The agency regulating various forms of communication. - **Gatekeepers**: Media personnel directing the flow of news. - **Going Public**: Strategies where politicians seek direct support from the public. - **Horse Race Journalism**: Election coverage focusing on candidates' standings rather than issues. - **Infotainment**: Programming that blends entertainment with information, often unrelated to public policy. - **Mass Media**: All forms of mass communication, including print, broadcast, and digital media. - **Net Neutrality**: The principle that internet information should be unrestricted. - **Newsworthiness**: The importance a story must have to be covered by media. - **Television Hypothesis**: Belief that television is responsible for low public knowledge of affairs by simplifying news. - **Watchdog Journalism**: Journalistic scrutiny of public and private institutions to expose misconduct. **Participation and Voting** Forms of Engagement - **Class Action Suit**: Legal action on behalf of a group in similar circumstances. - **Conventional Participation**: Routine, culturally acceptable political behavior through institutional channels. - **Direct Action**: Unconventional participation like protests seeking direct response from businesses or governments. - **Direct Primary**: Preliminary election where voters select party candidates for the general election. - **Franchise (Suffrage)**: The right to vote. - **Influencing Behavior**: Actions aimed at modifying government policy. - **Initiative**: Process allowing voters to propose legislative issues requiring a specified number of signatures. - **Political Participation**: Citizen actions intended to influence or support government and politics. - **Recall**: Procedure to remove an elected official from office before the end of their term. - **Referendum**: Direct vote on a policy issue. - **Standard Socioeconomic Model**: Correlation between higher socioeconomic status and increased political participation. - **Supportive Behavior**: Actions expressing allegiance to government and country. - **Unconventional Participation**: Political behavior that defies cultural norms and institutional structures. - **Voter Turnout**: The percentage of eligible voters who cast a vote in elections. **Freedom, Order, or Equality** Political Ideologies and Beliefs - **Anarchism**: Opposition to all forms of government, favoring absolute freedom. - **Capitalism**: An economic system favoring free enterprise with minimal government interference. - **Communism**: Aims for a classless society with public ownership of production means. - **Communitarians**: Support using government to promote order and equality. - **Conservatives**: Favor limited government intervention and free enterprise. - **Democratic Socialism**: Combines a socialist economy with a democratic political system. - **Equality of Opportunity and Outcome**: Concepts ensuring either equal chances or designed policies for economic and social equality. - **Freedom from and of**: Distinctions between absence of constraints and guaranteed rights. - **Globalization**: Increasing interdependence of global citizens and nations. - **Government**: The use of force to control behavior and the organization authorized to wield that force. - **Laissez-faire**: Minimal government intervention in economic affairs. - **Liberalism and Liberals**: Support for government interventions that promote social welfare. - **Libertarianism**: Advocacy for minimal government action to protect life and property only. - **National Sovereignty**: The recognized authority of a political entity over its affairs. - **Order**: Preserving life and protecting property. - **Police Power**: Government authority to maintain order and safeguard public welfare. - **Political Equality**: The principle of equal voting power. - **Political Ideology**: A consistent set of values and beliefs about government's role. - **Public Goods**: Services and benefits like education and sanitation provided by the government. - **Rights**: Fundamental entitlements protecting individuals from government violation. - **Social Equality**: Ensuring equal wealth, education, and status. - **Socialism**: Advocates for government's significant role in the economy. - **Totalitarianism**: The belief in unlimited power for government.