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politics
the exercise of power and attempts to maintain or to change power relations.
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power
the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others.
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micropolitics
the exercise of power in everyday life, such as deciding who is going to do the housework or use the remote control.
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macropolitics
the exercise of large-scale power, the government being the most common example.
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authority
power that people consider legitimate, as rightly exercised over them; also called "legitimate power."
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coercion
power that people do not accept as rightly exercised over them; also called "legitimate power."
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state
a political entity that claims monopoly on the use of violence in some particular territory; commonly known as a country.
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revolution
armed resistance designed to overthrow and replace a government.
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traditional authority
authority based on custom.
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rational-legal authority
authority based on law or written rules and regulations; also called "bureaucratic authority."
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charismatic authority
authority based on an individual's outstanding traits, which attract followers.
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routinization of charisma
the transfer of authority from a charismatic figure to either a traditional or a rational-legal form a authority.
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city-state
an independent city whose power radiates outward, bringing the adjacent area under its rule.
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monarchy
a form of government headed by a king or queen.
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democracy
a system of government in which authority derives from the people; the term comes from two Greek words that translate literally as "power to the people."
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direct democracy
a form of democracy in which the eligible voters meet together to discuss issues and make their decisions.
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representative democracy
a form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to meet together to discuss issues and make decisions on their behalf.
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citizenship
the concept that birth (and residence) in a country impart basic rights.
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universal citizenship
the idea that everyone has the same basic rights by virtue of being born in a country (or by immigrating and becoming a naturalized citizen).
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dictatorship
a form of government in which an individual has seized power.
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oligrachy
a form of government in which a small group of individuals holds power; the rule of the many by the few.
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totalitarianism
a form of government that exerts almost total control over people.
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proportional representation
an electoral system in which seats in a legislature are divided according to the proportion of votes that each political party receives.
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noncentrist party
a political party that represents less central (or popular) ideas.
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centrist party
a political party that represents the center of political opinion.
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coalition government
a government in which a country's largest party aligns itself with one or more smaller parties.
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voter apathy
indifference and inaction on the part of individuals or groups with respect to the political process.
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special-interest group
a group of people who support a particular issue and who can be mobilized for political action.
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lobbyists
people who influence legislation on behalf of their clients.
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political action committee (PAC)
an organization formed by one or more special-interest groups to solicit and spend funds for the purpose of influencing legislation.
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anarchy
a condition of lawlessness or political disorder cause by the absence or collapse of governmental authority.
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pluralism
the diffusion of power among many interest groups that prevents any single group from gaining control of the government.
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checks and balances
the separation of powers among the three branches of U.S. government--legislative, executive, and judicial--so that each is able to nullify the actions of the other two, thus preventing the domination of any single branch.
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power elite
C. Wright Mills' term for the top people in U.S. corporations, military, and politics who make the nation's major decisions.
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ruling class
another term for the power elite.
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war
armed conflict between nations or politically distinct groups.
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dehumanization
the act or process of reducing people to objects that do not deserve that treatment accorded humans.
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terrorism
the use of violence or the threat of violence to produce fear in order to attain political objectives.
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nationalism
a strong identification with a nation, accompanied by the desire for that nation to be dominant.
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