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AP Government Chapter 1 Terms

Terms in this set (22)

Government
The institutions and processes through which public policies are made for a society.
Collective Goods
Goods and services, such as clean air and clean water, that by their nature cannot be denied to anyone.
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. ex. voting, protest, civil disobedience.
Single-issue groups
groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance.
Policymaking system
The process by which policy comes into being and evolves. People's interests, problems, and concerns create political issues for government policymakers. 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
Policy agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
Political issue
an issue that arises when people disagree about a problem and how to fix it
Policymaking institutions
the branches of government charged with taking action on political issues.
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 policymakers 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 traditional democratic theory that describes the relationship between the few leaders and the many followers.
Pluralism
A theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policymaking 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 that groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened.
Policy Gridlock
A condition that occurs 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 nation.
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