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AP COGO Key Concepts

Terms in this set (75)

Civil Society
the way that citizens organize and define themselves and their interests
Advanced Democracies
well established democratic governments with a high level of economic development
Communism
a theory developed by Karl Marx and altered in the 20th century by Lenin
Lesser Developed Countries
lack significant economic development and tend to have authoritarian government
developing coutries
experiencing rapid economic growth and also have shown a tendency toward democratization and political and social stability
soveriegnty
the ability t carry out actios within the borders without interference
state
territory where a government controls what hapens within its borders
nation
a group of people that are bound together by a common political identity
regime
the rules a state sets and follows in exerting its power
country
a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory
political nstitutions
structures of a political system that carry out the work of governing
linkage institutions
groups that connect the government to its citizens (political parties, interest groups, print and electronic media)
nationalism
a sense of belonging to that common political identity
direct democracy
democracies when individuals have immediate say over many decisions that the government makes
indirect democracy
democracies with elected officials representing the people
parliamentary system
where citizens vote for legislative representatives which in turn select the leaders of the executive branch
presidential system
when citizens vote for legislative representatives as well as executive branch leaders; the 2 branches function with seperation of powers
semi--presidential system
a prime minister co-exists with a president
head of government
a role that deals with the everyday tasks of running the government
head of state
a role that symbolizes the power and nature of the state
separation of powers
power that is divided between branches to ensure that they share power and that one branch does not dominant the others
checks and balances
a method that allows power to be shared between the executive and legislative branch; part of a presidential system
political elites
the select few who hold political power
corporatisim
an arrangement in which the government officials interact with people/groups outside the government before they set policy
patron-client system
a system in which the state provides specific benefits or favors to a single person or small group in return for public support
coup d'etat
a forced take-over of the government that replaces the current leaders of the country wirh new leaders; often carried out by the military
co-optation
the means a regime uses to gain support
military rule
a form of nondemocratic rule; usually begins with a coup d'etat
pluralism
an important way citizens express their needs to the government; most votes win
democratic corporatism
the state recognizes interest groups, those now legally represent the state and act on its behalf
legitimacy
the right to rule as determined by their own citizens
common law
law based on tradition, past practices, and legal precedents set by the courts through interpretation of statues, legal legislation, and past rulings
code law
written rules of law divided into commercial, civil, and criminal codes
political culture
refers to the collection of political beliefs, values, practices and institutions that the government is based on
social capital
the amount of reciprocity and trust that exists among citizens, and between citizens and the state
liberalism
places mephasis on individual political and economic freedom
socialism
a political/economic system in which the government plays a major role (usually ownership) in determining the use of productive resources and the allocation of valuable goods and services
facism
devalue the idea of individual freedom, rejects value of equality, accepts the idea that people exist in inferior and superior groups, state has the right to mold society
reform
the type of change that prefers changing some of the methods leaders use to reach their goals rather than advocating for the over-throw of basic institutions
revolution
the type of change that involves a major revision or an over-throw of the existing institutions
fragmentation
divisions based on ethnic or cultural identity
substantive democracies
a type of liberal democracy where citizens have access to multiple sources of information
procedural democracies
when democractic procedures are in place but have significant restrictions on them
rule of law
provides for the equal treatment of citizens
civil liberities
guaranteed rights that citizens have
market economy
an economic system in which economic decisions and the pricing of goods and services are guided solely by the collective interactions of a country
command economy
where the government owns almost all industrial enterprises and retail sale outlets
social cleavages
divisions that interact with the political system and have tremendous impact on policymaking
political efficacy
a citizen's capacity to understand and influence political events
nongovernmental organizations (NGOS)
national and international groups independent of any state that pursue policy objectives and foster public participations
unitary system
a system that concentrates all policymaking powers in one central geographic place with the central government responsible for most policy areas
federal system
divides the power between the central government and sub-units and regional bodies
confederal system
spreads the power among many sub-unites and has a weak central government
supranational organizations
cooperating groups of nations that operate on either a regional or international level
globalization
a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations
bureaucracy
a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives
bicameral
having two branches or chambers
unicameral
having one branch or chamber
judicial review
the mechanism that allows courts to review laws and executive actions for the constitutionality
single-member districts
an electoral district with one representative in a legislative body
proportional representation
an electoral system in which voters cast their ballots for a party rather than for a candidate and how many votes a party receives determines how many seats the party gains in the legislature
referendum
a national ballot called by the government that allows the public to make direct decisions about policy itself
interest groups
organizations of like-minded people whose main political goal is to influence and shape public policy
political parties
an organized group of people with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office
social welfare
a system tat provides assistance to needy individuals and families
austerity
a set of economic policies a government undertakes to control public sector debt
authoritarian
favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom
coinciding cleavages
when every dispute aligns the same group against each other which can lead to intense conflict
crosscutting cleavages
divides society into many potential groups that may conflict on one issue but cooperate on another
gross domestic cleavages
all the goods and services produced by a country's economy in a given year excludes income earned outside of the country by citizens
multiparty system
a system with multiple parties
two-party system
when only 2 political parties dominant the political system
one party system
a system with only one political party
one party dominant system
a system where a category of parties or political organizations have successively won election victories and a future defeat is highly unlikely
transparency
a government that operates openly by keeping citizens informed about government operations and political issues and by responding to citizens' questions and advice
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