2017-18 AP: Government in America (NEED TO KNOW BY 9/21)
Chapter One: Introducing Government in America-Vocab and Key Terms
1. Government: The institutions and processes through which policies are made for a society.
2. Politics: The process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies these leaders pursue. Also: The process by which we elect leaders to represent us in the “how.”
3. Political participation: All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue; examples include voting, protest and civil disobedience.
4. Single-issue group: Groups that have a narrow interest tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. Link to: cohesiveness, free-rider problem.
5. Policymaking system: The process by which policy comes into being and evolves over time. People’s interest concerns and concerns create political issues for government policymakers. These issues shape policy, which in turn impacts people, generating more interests, problems and concerns.
6. Linkage institutions: The political channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the policy agenda; examples include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.
7. Policy agenda: The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given time. Link to: gatekeeper role of media; electronic throne.
8. Policymaking The branches of government charged with taking action on political issues; examples include institutions: Congress, the Presidency, the Courts, and the Bureaucracy.
9. Democracy: A system of selection policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the publics preferences. Link to: republic; oligarchy.
10. Majority rule: A fundamental principal of traditional democratic theory. In a democracy, choosing among alternatives require that the majority’s desire be respected. Link to: minority rights.
11. Minority rights: A principal of traditional democratic theory that guarantees rights to those who do not belong to majorities but allows for their participation. Link to: majority rule.
12. Pluralist theory: A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.
13. Elite & class theory: A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that the upper-class elite will rule; or perhaps should rule. Link to: oligarchy.
14. Hyperpluralism: A cynical theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened; pluralism gone bad. Link to: policy gridlock.
15. Policy gridlock: A condition that occurs when no coalition is strong enough to form a majority and establish policy. The result is that nothing may get done. Link to: hyperpluralism.
16. Individualism: The belief that individuals should be left on their own by the government; a prominent belief in American political thought. Link to: conservative, libertarian.
17. Political culture: An overall set of values widely shared within a society
18. Public policy: Choice government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem
19. Public goods: Goods, such as clean air and clean water, that everyone must share
20. Representation: The relationship between the few leaders and the many followers
21. Gross Domestic The sum total of the value of all the goods and services produced in a year in a nation.
Product: GDP