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