| Government | the institutions and processes through which public policies are made for society |
| Public Goods | other services, such as a college education or medical care, can be restricted to individuals who meet certain criteria, but may be provided by the private sector as well. |
| Politics | determine whom we select as our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue |
| Single-issue groups | concerned with one issue that members cast their votes on the basis of that issue only, ignoring a politician's stand on everything else. |
| Linkage institutions | institutions transmit the preferences of Americans to the policymakers in government. |
| Policy agenda | consists of the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at any given time |
| Political issue | An issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it. |
| Policymaking institutions | branches of government charged with taking action on political issues |
| public policy | A choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A course of action taken with regard to some problem. |
| Democracy | means of selecting policy makers and of organizing government so that policy reflects citizen's preferences |
| Majority rule | in choosing among alternatives, the will of over half the voters should be followed |
| Minority rights | the majority cannot infringe upon looking after the concerns of the many |
| Representation | in a democracy it describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers |
| Pluralist theory | states that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies |
| Elite and Class theory | states that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule |
| Hyper-pluralism | states that many groups not just the elite ones are so strong that government is unable to act |
| Policy Gridlock | it occurs when each policy coalition finds its way blocked by others |
| political participation | all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or policies. Voting, protest, civil disobedience, etc. |