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POL 101 Exam 3

Terms in this set (33)

Arrow's Theorem
the idea that elections cannot be the perfect means of making decisions because the method by which the votes are tallied can significantly alter the outcome
direct democracy
a political system in which all citizens gather together to share perspectives, debate, and vote on policies
tyranny of the majority
an unrestrained majority that bands together to rule a society with a ferocity and cruelty comparable to a dictator
Referenda
Questions that legislatures put on the ballot for people to vote on
initiatives
Questions that are put on the ballot by citizens, usually after some type of qualification process—for example, the collection of a significant number of signatures on a petition
representative democracy
system of government in which the people vote to select who will represent their interests rather than voting on the actual issues of the moment
majoritarianism
rule by the majority
median voter
the one voter in the center of the ideological spectrum
winner-take-all system
an electoral system in which there is no proportional representation
agents of political socialization
the sources form which a group learns the political culture, which can include schools, media, parents, politicians, friends, and religious leaders
cultural ownership
the idea that something that is part of a group's shared identity can also be owned
culture
the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic
political socialization
the process by which the group teaches the shared context to members of society
subcultures
smaller cultures within the main political culture
cockroach theory of politics
The idea that politicians do not want to be spotted anywhere where they might be stomped on; thus, when they see others caught by the media in a scandal, they try to avoid getting noticed for a similar indiscretion
cognitive frameworks
The set of instinctual and learned filters the human mind uses for sorting the mass of incoming information and selecting which bits it will recognize and pass on to the thinking parts of the brain
dramatic imperative
The need for commercial news outlets to focus on rare and unusual events that have a tremendous impact on people in order to draw an audience
framing
The use of a speech to provide a cognitive framework for understanding an issue, policy, or candidate to predispose people to interpret a myriad of facts and snippets in one way rather than another
mediated reality
Reality that comes to us through channels of information flow, primarily through the news media, and our understanding of how information is selected, sorted, and presented to us through the news media
mutual exploitation model
The idea that the news media exploits elites by using them for cheap sources of news that they know will interest the public while, at the same time, the elites exploit the news media by using them to communicate with the public and present a public image that will help their political, economic, or social ambitions
spin
The use of a speech to provide a cognitive framework for understanding an issue, policy, or candidate to predispose people to interpret a myriad of facts and snippets in one way rather than another
balance of power
The way in which the distribution of power across the international system influences the pattern of alliances that tend to form in an anarchical environment
bandwagoning
Opportunistic international alliances in which nations ally with the bully in order to carve out their own slices of the spoils
constructivism
A theoretical perspective in international relations that holds as its fundamental claim that human beings construct the reality around them—the reality upon which decisions and choices are made—through language and communication
democratic peace
The observation that liberal democratic political regimes do not fight one another
foreign policy analysis
A theoretical perspective in international relations that holds that understanding how those decisions are made within the structure, process, and context of domestic politics is essential for understanding international politics
hegemon
A dominant power—either an individual or, in the case of international politics, a country powerful enough to dominate all others
world systems theory
The idea that politics occur within an economic structure defined by exploitative trade relationships, with corporate, class, and multinational entities defining the units of action
agents of political socialization
The sources from which a group learns the political culture, which can include schools, parents, the media, politicians, friends, and religious leaders
cultural ownership
The idea that something that is part of a group's shared identity can also be owned
culture
The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic
political socialization
The process by which the group teaches the shared context to members of society
subcultures
Smaller cultures within the main political culture
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