| Term | Definition |
|---|
| government | institution making important decisions for society |
| public goods | services shared by everyone that can't be refused to anyone |
| politics | who gets what, when, and how |
| single-issue groups | groups that vote for a candidate based on where he stands on one issue |
| policymaking system | people - linkage institutions - policy agenda/political issues - law - policy - people |
| linkage institutions | political channels through which concerns become political issues |
| policy agenda | issues important to political officers |
| political issue | something that people have different opinions about, and different opinions on how to solve it |
| public policy | choice that the govt makes to respond to a political issue |
| democracy | choosing politicals and organizing govt so that policy represents and responds to people |
| majority rule | wish of half or more will be followed |
| representation | relationship between leaders and followers |
| pluralist theory | groups with shared interests can change public policy by joining forces (theory) |
| elite and class theory | society is divided by class lines and the upper class controls the govt |
| hyperpluralism | many groups are too strong, thus the govt's ability to create policies is weakened |
| policy gridlock | no coalition can form a majority, so nothing gets done |
| gross national product | total value of all goods and services produced in a nation |
| individualism | belief that govt should leave people alone |
| constitution | nation's basic law that creates political institutions, allocates power in government, and sometimes gives rights to citizens |
| natural rights | inherent rights of humans that don't depend on govt |
| limited government | restrictions on power of rulers |
| Shay's rebellion | 1786, band of farmers attacked western MA courthouses because of foreclosures |
| Articles of Confederation | enacted in 1781 |
| factions | interest groups that arise from uneven property distribution (parties) |
| distribution of wealth | main source of political conflict |
| writ of habeas corpus | court order to jailers telling them to tell judges why they jailed someone |
| separation of powers | branches of govt remain indepedent from one another; power is shared |
| republic | based on consent of governed; representatives have power |
| equal rights amendment | passed in 1972 by Congress; equality will not be denied based on sex |
| federalism | a nation has 2 or more levels or govt that has power over the same places and people |
| unitary government | all power comes from fed gov |
| confederation | mosto f hte power is in the lower levels |
| intergovernmental | interactions among national, state, and local governments |
| supremacy clause | supreme laws of the land are the Constitution, treaties, and national laws that agree with the Constitution |
| full faith and credit | all states have to recognize official docs and court rulings of other states |
| extradition | returning criminal offenders to the states where they committed a crime |
| privileges and immunity clause | citizens of each state can have most of the privileges of other states |
| dual federalism | government in which both levels are supreme in their own areas as they have control over different things |
| cooperative federalism | powers and policy assignments are shared |
| fiscal federalism | pattern of spending, taxing, and giving grants in the federal govt |
| categorical grant | a grant that can only be used for certain categories; MOST used |
| project grant | a grant given based on merit |
| formula grant | distributed based on a formula (population, per capita income, rurality, etc) |
| block grant | a grant automatically given to states to be used for broad programs |
Combine with other sets
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