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| A form of democracy in which ordinary citizens, rather than representatives, collectively make government decisions. |
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| When one party controls the presidency and another controls Congress. |
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| The tendency for the single-member-district-plurality system to favor a two-party system., as documented by French sociologist Maurice Duverger. |
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| A political system in which three or more political parties effectively compete for political office, and no one party can win control of all. |
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| A political system in which representatives of one political party hold all or almost all of the major offices in government. |
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| An electoral system in which the party holding the majority of seats in the legislature selects the chief executive. |
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| Requiring political party members in public office to promote or carry out the party's agenda and punishing those who do not. |
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| The component of a political party that is made up of elected and appointed government officeholders who belong to a political party. |
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| The component of a political party that is made up of the people in the public who identify with a political party. |
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| The component of a political party that is comprised of the party professionals who hold official positions in the party. |
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| Party activists whose incentives for participating in party activities are primarily material and social in nature. |
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| A vote in which a majority of Democrats vote on one side and a majority of Republicans vote on the other. |
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| Policy-motivated activists |
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| Party activists whose incentives for participating in in party activities are primarily purposive and social. |
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| A political organization characterized by a reciprocal relationship between voters and officeholders. Political support is given in exchange for government jobs and services. Headed by a "party boss", political machines and party bosses maintain their power and control over government offices with such techniques as control over nominations, patronage, graft and bribery, vote buying, and rigging elections. |
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| An organization that nominates and runs candidates for public office under its own label. |
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| The giving of government jobs to people based on their party affiliation and loyalty. |
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| A political system in which the chief executive and the legislature are elected independently. |
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| Proportional representation |
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| A method of selecting representatives in which representation is given to political parties based on the proportion of the vote obtained. This method has the effect of encouraging multiple partners. |
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| A concept that describes democracies with competitive parties in which one party wins control of the government based on its policy proposals, enacts those proposals once its in control, and stands or falls in the next election based on its performance in delivering on it's promises. |
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| A behavioral model of politics based on the assumption that human beings have a psychological need for predictability in their relations with each other. |
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| Single-member-district-plurality (SMDP) system |
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| A method of selecting representatives in which one person will win the single position based on obtaining a plurality of the vote. |
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| Voting for the same party's candidates for president and Congress. |
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| Minor political parties that periodically appear but have little success in winning office. |
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| A political system in which only two political parties have a realistic chance of controlling the major offices of government. |
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