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AP Gov 2015 WONG
FINAL MONSTER VOCAB
63
Political Studies
Advanced
12/15/2015

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Federalism
Definition

A system of government in which power is shared by national and state governments.

Term
Fiscal federalism
Definition
The practice of states spending federal money to help administer national programs.
Term

Cooperative federalism: 

Definition
A term used to describe federalism for most of the twentieth century (and into the twenty-first), where the federal government and the states work closely together and are intertwined; also known as marble-cake federalism. 
Term
Block Grants
Definition
A grant-in-aid with few restrictions or rules about how it can be spent.
Term

Categorical grants

Definition
Money given for a specific purpose that comes with restrictions concerning how the money should be spent. There are two types of categorical grants: project grants and formula grants.
Term

Unfunded mandate

Definition
A mandate for which the federal government gives the states no money.
Term

Devolution

Definition
The process of the national government giving responsibilities and powers to state, local, or regional governments.
Term

Demographic 

Definition

The science of population changes.

Term

Political socialization

Definition
 The process by which political culture is passed on to the young.
Term
Political Culture
Definition
The set of beliefs, values, shared myths, and notions of a good policy that a group of people hold.
Term

Political efficacy

Definition
The belief that the government listens to normal people and that participation can make a difference in government.
Term

Gender gap

Definition
A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.
Term

Single-member districts.

Definition
A legislative district that sends only one person to the legislature
Term

Redistricting

Definition
By redrawing district boundaries after a state loses or gains seats in the House of Representatives.
Term

Gerrymandering

Definition
The term used to describe the process by which the party that controls the state government uses redistricting to its own political advantage.
Term

Critical elections

Definition
 An election that marks the advent of realignment.
Term

Realignment

Definition
A dramatic shift in the balance of the two parties that changes the key issues dividing the parties.
Term

Dealignment

Definition
 The loosening of party ties as more voters see themselves as independents.
Term

Divided government

Definition
: It is a situation in which one party controls the presidency, while the other controls at least one house of Congress.
Term

Open primary

Definition
 A primary in which a person can participate in any party’s primary as long as he or she participates in only one party’s primary.
Term

Closed primary

Definition
A primary when the voter must belong to the party in which he or she participates.
Term

Caucus

Definition
A gathering of political leaders to make decisions, such as which candidate to nominate for an office; set policy; and plot strategy.
Term

General election

Definition
An election contest between all party nominees and independent candidates; the winner becomes a member of Congress.
Term

Midterm election

Definition
A congressional election that does not coincide with a presidential election.
Term

PAC

Definition
 An organization usually allied with an interest group, that can donate money to political campaigns.
Term

Super Pacs

Definition

officially known as "independent-expenditure only committees," which can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions and other groups, as well as individuals, may not coordinate its activities with campaigns or candidates, have to tell where they got their money.

Term

Independent expenditures

Definition

spending by political action committees, corporations, or labor unions that is done to help a party or candidate but is done independently of them, spend money on behalf of the candidate. 

Term

Policy agenda

Definition

Issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.

Term

Horse race journalism

Definition

a practice which journalist and reporters use in regards to government coverage and campaign coverage with emphasis on who is gaining or losing, not on what is being done about issues.

Term

 

 

Issue network (iron triangle)

Definition

 A collection of actors who agree on a policy and work together to shape policy. An alliance of groups with an interest in a policy area: bureaucrats from the relevant agency, legislators from appropriate committees, and interest groups affected by the issue.

Term

 

 

Political party


 

Definition

An alliance of like-minded people who work together to win elections and control of the government.


Term

 

 

Party polarization

Definition

Indicated by votes in which a majority of voting Democrats oppose a majority of voting Republicans.

Term

Interest Group

Definition

An organization of people who share a common interest and work together to protect and promote that interest by influencing the government.

Term

 

 

Pluralism

Definition

The view that society contains numerous centers of power and many people participate in making decisions for society.

Term

Lobbying

Definition

Attempting to persuade government officials through direct contact via persuasion and the provision of material benefits; also known as the inside game.

Term

 

Grassroots lobbying

Definition

influencing government decision makers though indirect pressure (usually in the form of letters, emails, phone calls) from large numbers of constituents. This is also called indirect lobbying.

Term

Expressed Powers

Definition

The specific powers given to Congress or the president by the Constitution; also called the enumerated powers.

Term

 

 

 

Implied Powers

Definition

 Powers given to the national government by the necessary and proper clause.

Term

Franking privilege

Definition

The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for postage.

Term

 

 

Pork Barrel

Definition

Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.

Term

 

 

Filibuster

Definition

A Senate tactic; a senator in the minority on a bill holds the floor (in effect shutting down the Senate) until the majority backs down and kills the bill.

Term

 

Casework: 

 
Definition
Work done by a member of Congress or his or her staff on behalf of constituents.
Term

 

 

Oversight

Definition

Congress’s powers to make sure laws are being properly enforced.

Term

 

 

Motion for cloture

Definition

A motion to end debate in the Senate, it must be approved by sixty votes.

Term

Incumbency

Definition

a person currently holding office. Tendency of those alrady holding office to win reelection due to advgs b/c they already hold the office.

Term

Inherent Powers

Definition

The powers inherent to the national government because the United States is a sovereign nation.

Term

White House Staff

Definition

 The people with whom the president works every day.

Term

Pocket Veto

Definition

An unusual type of presidential veto: When the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill, after ten days the bill dies if Congress is not in session.

Term

 

 

 

Lame Duck period

Definition

A politician who is still in office after having lost a reelection bid.

Term

Amicus curiae

Definition

 Literally, a “friend of the court” brief. A brief submitted to the court by a group not involved in the case; it presents further arguments for one side in the case.

Term

Stare decisis

Definition

 The rule of precedent, whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.

Term

Original intent

Definition

 A judicial philosophy that states that judges should seek to interpret the law and the constitution in line with the intent of the founders.

Term

Litigation

Definition

is when people go to court in order to get a positive ruling for their cause. If there is a law that hurts a certain group of people, they can go to court and say that it is unlawful, and that it impinges on their rights. Civil rights groups like the NAACP use litigation to force lawmakers to bring forth fair regulations as guaranteed in the constitution.

Term

Judicial Review

Definition

 The power of the courts to declare laws and presidential actions unconstitutional.

Term

 

 

Judicial activism

Definition

A judicial philosophy that argues courts must take an active positive role to remedy wrongs in the country.

Term

Writ of certiorari

Definition

 The legal document, issued by the Supreme Court, that orders a lower court to send a case to the Supreme Court for review.

Term

Uncontrollable spending

Definition

The portion of the federal budget that is spent on programs, such as Social Security, that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut.

Term

 

 

 

Entitlements

Definition

A program under which the federal government is obligated to pay a specified benefit to people who meet certain requirements. Programs such as unemployment insurance, disaster relief, or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.

Term

 

 

Mandatory spending

Definition

Required by law to spend the money on entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security veterans pensions etc.

Term

 

 

Monetary policy

Definition

An economic policy that seeks to control the supply of money in the economy.

Term

 

 

Fiscal policy

Definition

How the government influences the economy through taxing, borrowing, and spending.

Term

 

 

Selective incorporation

Definition

Forcing states to abide by only parts of the Bill of Rights, not the whole thing.

Term

Suffrage

Definition

The right to vote; also called the franchise.

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