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Introduction to Political Science

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Introduction to Political ScienceKey Terms
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Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. Introduction to Political Science
    1. 1 What Is Politics and What Is Political Science?
      1. Introduction
      2. 1.1 Defining Politics: Who Gets What, When, Where, How, and Why?
      3. 1.2 Public Policy, Public Interest, and Power
      4. 1.3 Political Science: The Systematic Study of Politics
      5. 1.4 Normative Political Science
      6. 1.5 Empirical Political Science
      7. 1.6 Individuals, Groups, Institutions, and International Relations
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
  3. Individuals
    1. 2 Political Behavior Is Human Behavior
      1. Introduction
      2. 2.1 What Goals Should We Seek in Politics?
      3. 2.2 Why Do Humans Make the Political Choices That They Do?
      4. 2.3 Human Behavior Is Partially Predictable
      5. 2.4 The Importance of Context for Political Decisions
      6. Summary
      7. Key Terms
      8. Review Questions
      9. Suggested Readings
    2. 3 Political Ideology
      1. Introduction
      2. 3.1 The Classical Origins of Western Political Ideologies
      3. 3.2 The Laws of Nature and the Social Contract
      4. 3.3 The Development of Varieties of Liberalism
      5. 3.4 Nationalism, Communism, Fascism, and Authoritarianism
      6. 3.5 Contemporary Democratic Liberalism
      7. 3.6 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Left
      8. 3.7 Contemporary Ideologies Further to the Political Right
      9. 3.8 Political Ideologies That Reject Political Ideology: Scientific Socialism, Burkeanism, and Religious Extremism
      10. Summary
      11. Key Terms
      12. Review Questions
      13. Suggested Readings
    3. 4 Civil Liberties
      1. Introduction
      2. 4.1 The Freedom of the Individual
      3. 4.2 Constitutions and Individual Liberties
      4. 4.3 The Right to Privacy, Self-Determination, and the Freedom of Ideas
      5. 4.4 Freedom of Movement
      6. 4.5 The Rights of the Accused
      7. 4.6 The Right to a Healthy Environment
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
    4. 5 Political Participation and Public Opinion
      1. Introduction
      2. 5.1 What Is Political Participation?
      3. 5.2 What Limits Voter Participation in the United States?
      4. 5.3 How Do Individuals Participate Other Than Voting?
      5. 5.4 What Is Public Opinion and Where Does It Come From?
      6. 5.5 How Do We Measure Public Opinion?
      7. 5.6 Why Is Public Opinion Important?
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
  4. Groups
    1. 6 The Fundamentals of Group Political Activity
      1. Introduction
      2. 6.1 Political Socialization: The Ways People Become Political
      3. 6.2 Political Culture: How People Express Their Political Identity
      4. 6.3 Collective Dilemmas: Making Group Decisions
      5. 6.4 Collective Action Problems: The Problem of Incentives
      6. 6.5 Resolving Collective Action Problems
      7. Summary
      8. Key Terms
      9. Review Questions
      10. Suggested Readings
    2. 7 Civil Rights
      1. Introduction
      2. 7.1 Civil Rights and Constitutionalism
      3. 7.2 Political Culture and Majority-Minority Relations
      4. 7.3 Civil Rights Abuses
      5. 7.4 Civil Rights Movements
      6. 7.5 How Do Governments Bring About Civil Rights Change?
      7. Summary
      8. Key Terms
      9. Review Questions
      10. Suggested Readings
    3. 8 Interest Groups, Political Parties, and Elections
      1. Introduction
      2. 8.1 What Is an Interest Group?
      3. 8.2 What Are the Pros and Cons of Interest Groups?
      4. 8.3 Political Parties
      5. 8.4 What Are the Limits of Parties?
      6. 8.5 What Are Elections and Who Participates?
      7. 8.6 How Do People Participate in Elections?
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
  5. Institutions
    1. 9 Legislatures
      1. Introduction
      2. 9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
      3. 9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
      4. 9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
      5. 9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence
      6. Summary
      7. Key Terms
      8. Review Questions
      9. Suggested Readings
    2. 10 Executives, Cabinets, and Bureaucracies
      1. Introduction
      2. 10.1 Democracies: Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Regimes
      3. 10.2 The Executive in Presidential Regimes
      4. 10.3 The Executive in Parliamentary Regimes
      5. 10.4 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Challenges of Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes
      6. 10.5 Semi-Presidential Regimes
      7. 10.6 How Do Cabinets Function in Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes?
      8. 10.7 What Are the Purpose and Function of Bureaucracies?
      9. Summary
      10. Key Terms
      11. Review Questions
      12. Suggested Readings
    3. 11 Courts and Law
      1. Introduction
      2. 11.1 What Is the Judiciary?
      3. 11.2 How Does the Judiciary Take Action?
      4. 11.3 Types of Legal Systems around the World
      5. 11.4 Criminal versus Civil Laws
      6. 11.5 Due Process and Judicial Fairness
      7. 11.6 Judicial Review versus Executive Sovereignty
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
    4. 12 The Media
      1. Introduction
      2. 12.1 The Media as a Political Institution: Why Does It Matter?
      3. 12.2 Types of Media and the Changing Media Landscape
      4. 12.3 How Do Media and Elections Interact?
      5. 12.4 The Internet and Social Media
      6. 12.5 Declining Global Trust in the Media
      7. Summary
      8. Key Terms
      9. Review Questions
      10. Suggested Readings
  6. States and International Relations
    1. 13 Governing Regimes
      1. Introduction
      2. 13.1 Contemporary Government Regimes: Power, Legitimacy, and Authority
      3. 13.2 Categorizing Contemporary Regimes
      4. 13.3 Recent Trends: Illiberal Representative Regimes
      5. Summary
      6. Key Terms
      7. Review Questions
      8. Suggested Readings
    2. 14 International Relations
      1. Introduction
      2. 14.1 What Is Power, and How Do We Measure It?
      3. 14.2 Understanding the Different Types of Actors in the International System
      4. 14.3 Sovereignty and Anarchy
      5. 14.4 Using Levels of Analysis to Understand Conflict
      6. 14.5 The Realist Worldview
      7. 14.6 The Liberal and Social Worldview
      8. 14.7 Critical Worldviews
      9. Summary
      10. Key Terms
      11. Review Questions
      12. Suggested Readings
    3. 15 International Law and International Organizations
      1. Introduction
      2. 15.1 The Problem of Global Governance
      3. 15.2 International Law
      4. 15.3 The United Nations and Global Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
      5. 15.4 How Do Regional IGOs Contribute to Global Governance?
      6. 15.5 Non-state Actors: Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
      7. 15.6 Non-state Actors beyond NGOs
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
    4. 16 International Political Economy
      1. Introduction
      2. 16.1 The Origins of International Political Economy
      3. 16.2 The Advent of the Liberal Economy
      4. 16.3 The Bretton Woods Institutions
      5. 16.4 The Post–Cold War Period and Modernization Theory
      6. 16.5 From the 1990s to the 2020s: Current Issues in IPE
      7. 16.6 Considering Poverty, Inequality, and the Environmental Crisis
      8. Summary
      9. Key Terms
      10. Review Questions
      11. Suggested Readings
  7. References
  8. Index
appeal
a higher court’s review of a lower court’s decision to determine if an error of law caused the rendition of an improper judgment by the lower court
arraignment
the initial court hearing in which an arrested individual is informed of the specific criminal charges against them, bail is set, and the individual is appointed an attorney if they have not already secured one
authoritarian-populist judiciary
a system that has transitioned from a rule-of-law system to a rule-by-law authoritarian subsystem through changes instituted by one ruling person or political party
bail
court-determined conditions that must be met for an arrested individual to be released from jail, designed to ensure that the individual will appear for all hearings and the trial in a criminal case; may include fines or restrictions on activity
capital punishment
the imposition of the death penalty on persons convicted of specific crimes
civil law
a system of laws concerned with the peaceful resolution of disputes between individuals rather than with criminal conduct
civil law system
a legal system that relies heavily on codes of statutes, in which the judicial process is mainly investigatory rather than adversarial
common law system
a legal system that relies on precedent, in which the judicial process is adversarial
court case
a specific dispute about a law brought before a court; for a court to act, parties with standing who allege specific issues based on written laws must file a case
criminal law
a system of laws establishing minimum conduct of the individual and permitting the government to punish any person who violates such laws
customary law system
a legal system based on long-standing traditions in a particular community
due process
a legal requirement that the government respect the rights of the accused and take procedural steps to create a fair system of government action against the accused
evidence
the materials or statements a court can consider as the proof necessary for any alleged matter in a case
executive sovereignty system
a system in which the actions of a parliament or the executive cannot be reviewed for their constitutionality
felonies
serious crimes that carry more severe sentences than misdemeanor crimes
grand jury
a body of citizens that reviews evidence to determine if there is probable cause to charge a person with a felony
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
the standard required to convict someone of a crime in a rule-of-law system
hybrid system
in government, a mixture of any two or more types of legal or judicial selection systems
issues
the questions to be answered in a court case; a court cannot decide anything other than the issues raised by the parties
judgment
the binding decision in a court case, issued as a legal document
judicial branch
the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the government; also called judicial system
judicial independence
the concept that the judicial branch is independent of undue influence or pressure from other branches of government, partisanship, or other interests and that it is free to interpret cases using certain principles or laws, such as the nation’s constitution, without fear of reprisal
judicial review
a process in which the judicial branch reviews actions by the other branches of government to ensure that they are following the country’s constitution and its principles
judicial system
the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the government; also called judicial branch
judiciary
the people who work in the judicial branch of a government; also used as a synonym for judicial branch
jurisdiction
the authority, in the form of a written constitution or a statute, that authorizes a court to hear a case; includes both the geographical region and the topics of the court’s authority
misdemeanors
minor criminal offenses that are often punishable by a fine
nullification
the willful refusal to obey or enforce a court order or statute
precedent
prior court decisions that provide guidance in a current case
probable cause
the amount of evidence required for the government to take specific actions against a defendant in a criminal investigation or case; determined on a case-by-case basis
procedural due process
the process, procedures, and rules that the government must follow when taking any legal action against an individual so that their rights under the constitution are protected
religious law system
a legal system that bases its laws on religious texts or beliefs
rule by law
describes political systems in which the judicial branch and the judiciary help impose the government’s approved viewpoint on the citizens; the judiciary has little independence and acts as a source of government control over individual citizens
rule of law
the principle that the government is one of law, not of any individual or group
social contract
a voluntary agreement whereby the people consent to abide by specific rules while living in a territory and the government of that territory consents to limit itself to acting in accordance with certain standards
sovereignty
the power of a governmental body to exercise authority by creating and imposing rules on people within the area it controls
standing
the status necessary for an individual or group to complain about a law before the court, created by a direct injury to that individual or group as a result of government action
substantive due process
the principle that due process applies not only to legal procedures but also to broader government actions, such as the passing of laws, and that such actions are subject to review to ensure that they do not infringe on individuals’ constitutional rights
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