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Glossary
527 committees: Tax-exempt groups that can raise unlimited soft money to be used to mobilize
targeted voters and for issue advocacy if there is no expressed support for or against a specific
candidate. These 527 committees are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission. (7)
Accommodationist interpretation: A reading of the establishment clause that bars only the
establishment by Congress of an official public church. Accommodationists agree with state
support of religion so long as all religions are treated equally. (4)
Affirmative action: A set of procedures that attempts to correct the effects of past discrimination
against minority groups. It can include specific goals and quotas for hiring minority applicants.
(4)
Agenda setting: The second stage of policymaking, in which the issue or problem is seriously
considered by the policymaking institution. (14)
Amicus curiae: Latin for “friend of the court.” Amicus curiae briefs are written briefs submitted
to the Supreme Court by third-party individuals or organizations that want their opinions to be
considered in a case. (13)
Antitrust laws: Laws intended to promote greater economic competition. Among the major
examples in U.S. history are the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the Clayton Antitrust Act of
1914. (14)
Appeal: A route by which cases can reach the Supreme Court. In such cases, litigants have some
right under the law to have their cases reviewed. (13)
Appellate courts: Courts that reconsider the decisions rendered by trial courts if the losing party
requests it and demonstrates grounds for it. (13)
Appropriation of funds: The actions taken by Congress to authorize the spending of funds. (2)
Articles of Confederation: The first constitution of the United States, ratified in 1781. They
established a loose union of states and a congress with few powers. (2)
Attentive publics: The segments of the population that are normally more interested in and better
informed about relevant issues than the general public. These groups are the main audience for
media coverage of foreign and defense policies. (15)
Authority: The capacity to make and enforce public policies possessed by individuals who
occupy formal governmental roles. (1)
Bad tendency test: The principle that the Supreme Court began to prefer, in First Amendment
cases, over the clear and present danger test. It allowed the government to punish speech that
might cause people to behave illegally. (4)
Balance of power strategy: A “realist’s” approach to foreign policy, based on the need to offset
any imbalance in international relations that might lead to one nation’s becoming too powerful.
Advocated by Henry Kissinger, it was the central premise of American foreign policy for most of
the 1970s. (15)
Balance of trade: The net difference between the value of what Americans buy and what they
sell overseas. (14)
Beliefs: those strongly held assumptions and attitudes about politics and government we grow up
with or develop over time. In contrast to reasoned analysis or myths, beliefs do not rely on
empirical evidence or narratives. (1)
Bicameral: Refers to a legislature that is divided into two separate houses, such as the U.S.
Congress. (2)
Bill of attainder: A legislative act declaring a person guilty of a crime and setting punishment
without the benefit of a formal trial. (2)
Bill of Rights: In the United States, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which
collectively guarantee the fundamental liberties of citizens against abuse by the national
government. (2)
Block grants: Money given to the states by Congress that can be used in broad areas and is not
limited to specific purposes, as categorical grants are. They were introduced in the mid-1960s as a
means of giving states greater freedom. (3)
Briefs: Documents submitted to a court by attorneys that contain a summary of the issues, the
laws applying to the case, and arguments supporting counsel’s position. (13)
Budget deficit: The result when expenditures exceed revenues. (14)
Budget surplus: The result when budget revenues exceed expenditures. (14)
Bureaucracy: Any large, complex organization in which employees have specific job
responsibilities and work within a hierarchy. The term is often used to refer to both government
agencies and the people who work in them. (12)
Bureaucratic pathologies: Behaviors by bureaucrats that feed the idea that the bureaucracy is
incompetent and unresponsive. They include clientelism, incrementalism, arbitrariness,
parochialism, and imperialism. (12)
Bureaucratic power: The power of government agencies, derived from law, external support,
expertise, discretion, longevity in office, skill, leadership, and a variety of other sources. (12)
Bush Doctrine: A post-9/11 foreign policy statement by President George W. Bush noting his
administration's willingness to engage in preemptive attacks and "preventative wars" to deal with
threats to U.S. security.
Cabinet: An official advisory board to the president, made up of the heads (secretaries) of the
major departments in the federal government. (12)
Candidate-centered campaign: A campaign in which paid consultants or volunteers coordinate
campaign activities, develop strategies, and raise funds. Parties play a secondary role. (7)
Career service personnel systems: Separate personnel systems for highly specialized agencies
like the Coast Guard and the Foreign Service. (12)
Casework: Work done by members of Congress to provide constituents with personal services
and help them through the maze of federal programs and benefits. (10)
Categorical, or conditional, grants-in-aid: Money given to the states and localities by Congress
to be used for limited purposes under specific rules. (3)
Caucus: A forum for choosing candidates that was closed to the public until the Progressive Era;
contemporary caucuses are local party meetings, open to all who live in the precinct, in which
citizens discuss and then vote for delegates to district and state conventions. (7)
Charter: A legal institution that originated during the Middle Ages and formed part of the British
constitution. Specifically, a formal agreement describing the rights and duties of both the
landowner and those bound to that person. (2)
Checks and balances: The principle that lets the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
share some responsibilities and gives each branch some control over the others’ activities. The
major support for checks and balances comes from the Constitution’s distribution of shared
powers. (2)
Circuit courts: Federal courts of appeals that rank above the district courts and serve as the
major appellate courts for the federal system. They review all cases, both civil and criminal, and
the decisions of independent regulatory agencies and departments. (13)
Civil actions: Suits arising out of conflicts between private persons and/or organizations; they
typically include disputes over contracts, claims for damages, and divorce petitions. (13)
Civil disobedience: Refusal to obey civil laws that are regarded as unjust. This may involve
methods of passive resistance such as sit-ins and boycotts. (5)
Civil liberties: Freedoms, most of which are spelled out in the Bill of Rights, from excessive or
arbitrary government interference. (4)
Civil rights: Guarantees of government protection of individuals against discrimination or
unreasonable treatment by others. (4)
Clear and present danger test: The proposition, proclaimed by the Supreme Court in Schenck
v. United States (1919), that the government has the right to punish speech if it can be shown to
present a grave and immediate danger to the country’s interests. (4)
Closed primary: A primary election in which a voter is allowed to obtain only a ballot of the
party in which he or she is registered. (7)
Cloture: The rule for ending debate in the Senate; it requires that at least sixty senators vote to
cut off discussion. (10)
Coalition building: The bringing together of diverse interest groups in a common lobbying
effort. (8)
Cold War: The post–World War II period characterized by ideological and policy confrontations
between the American-led West and the Soviet-led East. (15)
Common law: The collection of legal doctrines that grew out of the many cases heard, beginning
in medieval times, by judges appointed by the British Crown; also called judge-made law. It is
part of the British constitution. (2)
Concurrent powers: Those powers that the Constitution grants to the national government but
does not deny to the states, for example, the power to lay and collect taxes. (2)
Concurring opinions: Opinions written by Supreme Court justices that agree with the
conclusion but not with the reasoning of the majority opinion. (13)
Confederation: An arrangement in which ultimate governmental authority is vested in the states
that make up the union, with whatever power the national government has being derived from the
states’ willingness to give up some of their authority to a central government. (2)
Conference committees: Temporary joint committees that are formed to reconcile differences
between the House and Senate versions of a bill. Such committees often play a critical role in
shaping legislation. (10)
Confirmation: The power of the U.S. Senate to approve or disapprove a presidential nominee for
an executive or judicial post. (2)
Congressional authorization: The power of Congress to provide the president with the right to
carry out legislated policies. (2)
Congressional-executive agreement: An agreement with a foreign nation that is negotiated by
the president and then submitted to both houses of Congress for approval. (11)
Conservatism: A set of ideological beliefs tending to resist government interference in economic
matters while favoring government action to regulate private affairs for moral purposes. (1)
Constitutional construction: A form of constitutional change that occurs as public officials fill
in the institutional “blank spaces” left by the Constitution. (2)
Constitutional interpretation: A process of constitutional change that involves attempts to
discover the meaning of the words used in the different provisions of the Constitution as they
might apply to specific situations. (2)
Consumer protection policies: Government laws and programs developed to deal with the
safety and quality of consumer products and to protect consumers from deceptive business
practices. (14)
Containment: The foreign policy, pursued by the United States throughout the Cold War, that
called for preventing the Soviet Union from making further expansionist moves in its effort to
conquer the capitalist world. (15)
Cooperative federalism: A period of cooperation between state and national government that
began during the Great Depression. The national government began to take on new
responsibilities, and state and local officials accepted it as an ally, not an enemy. (3)
Copyright: A constitutionally sanctioned legal right to protection of creative works afforded
under law. (2)
Corporation: Public agencies that carry out specific economic or service functions (such as the
U.S. Postal Service and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting) and are organized in the same
way as private corporations. (12)
Councils of governments: Local and regional bodies created in the early 1970s with federal
funds to help solve problems such as coordinating applications for federal grants. (3)
Covert actions: Activities—ranging from gathering intelligence to assassinating foreign
leaders—that are intentionally hidden from public view and may be of questionable legality. (15)
Criminal law: The branch of the law dealing with offenses against the public order and
providing for a specified punishment. Most criminal law cases arise in state courts. (13)
Decentralization: A term used to describe the Republican and Democratic parties, meaning that
decision-making power is dispersed, the party is regulated at the state level, and no single
individual controls the system. (6)
Declaration of Independence: The document declaring the colonies to be free and independent
states and also articulating the fundamental principles under which the new nation would be
governed that was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in July 1776. (2)
Delegated powers: The powers the Constitution gives to Congress that are specifically listed in
the first seventeen clauses in Section 8 of Article I; sometimes referred to as “enumerated
powers.” (2)
Democracy: To Americans, a government where authority is based on the consent and will of the
majority. (1)
Department of Defense: The agency most closely linked with military policymaking. It includes
the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (15)
Department of State: The cabinet department responsible for the day-to-day operation of
embassies, the protection of U.S. interests abroad, formal negotiations between the United States
and other nations, and the provision of advice and assistance to the president. (15)
Deregulation: The reduction or elimination of government regulatory policies. (14)
Détente: The relaxation of tensions between nations. It became the name for President Nixon’s
policy of taking a more cooperative approach in dealing with Soviet bloc nations while enhancing
U.S. security arrangements with its allies. (15)
Deterrence strategy: The buildup and maintenance of nuclear and conventional forces and large
stockpiles of weapons to discourage any potential enemy from attacking the United States or its
allies. (15)
Devolution: A term indicating the effort to give more functions and responsibilities to states and
localities in the intergovernmental system. (3)
Dissenting opinions: Legal opinions written by Supreme Court justices that disagree with the
majority conclusion. (13)
Dual federalism: The perspective on federalism that emerged after the Civil War. It saw the
national and state governments as equal but independent partners, with each responsible for
distinct policy functions and each barred from interfering with the other’s work. (3)
Economic development policies: Policies intended to promote and protect businesses in order to
enhance overall economic growth. (14)
Economic regulatory policies: Economic policies through which the government monitors and
controls critical industries and sectors of the economy. (14)
Electioneering: Participating in the election process by providing services or raising campaign
contributions. (8)
Electoral coalitions: Groups of loyal supporters who agree with the party’s stand on most issues
and vote for its candidates for office. (6)
Electoral college: The constitutional body designed to select the president. Described in Article
II of the Constitution. (2)
Electoral college: The system set up by the Constitution under which the people in each state
elect a number of electors equal to the number of senators and representatives for that state. In
most states, the presidential candidate winning a plurality of the vote in that state receives all its
electoral college votes. (7)
Elite model of decision making: The theory that public policies are made by a relatively small
group of influential leaders who share common goals and points of view. (14)
Elitist view of power: The view that political power should be in the hands of a relatively small
part of the general population that shares a common understanding about the fundamental issues
facing society and government. (1)
Eminent domain: The right of a sovereign government to take property for public purposes for
just compensation even if the owner objects. (3)
Enlightenment: The period from the 1600s through the 1700s in European intellectual history. It
was dominated by the idea that human reason, not religious tradition, was the primary source of
knowledge and wisdom. (2)
Entitlement programs: Programs such as social security that commit the government to supply
funds or services to all citizens who meet specified eligibility requirements. (14)
Entitlements: Payments that automatically go to any person or local governmental entity that
meets the requirements specified by law; examples are social security benefits and military
pensions. (10)
Episodic coverage: Live, on-the-scene reporting of an issue that focuses on the individual and
encourages the public to attribute responsibility to the private individuals involved. (9)
Equal employment opportunity: Federal programs developed under civil rights legislation that
prohibit workplace and other forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national
origin, or handicapped status. (14)
Equal-time rule: A Federal Communications Commission rule that requires a broadcaster who
permits one candidate to campaign on the station to provide all other candidates for the same
office with equal time at identical rates. (9)
Ex post facto law: A law declaring an action criminal even if it was performed before the law
making it illegal was passed. (2)
Exclusionary rule: The principle that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be used to
convict someone if it is gathered illegally. Established by the Supreme Court in Mapp v. Ohio
(1961). (4)
Executive agreements: Agreements with other nations that are made by the president without the
Senate’s consent. They have all the legal force of treaties but, unlike treaties, are not binding on
succeeding presidents. (11)
Executive Office of the President (EOP): The collective name for several agencies, councils,
and groups of staff members that advise the president and help manage the federal bureaucracy.
The EOP was established in the 1930s; the number and type of agencies that constitute it change
with each presidential administration. (12)
Executive order: A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. (11)
Executive privilege: The right, claimed by presidents from Washington onward, to withhold
information from Congress. (11)
Expansionism: The pre–World War I American policy that led the United States to extend its
boundaries to the Pacific while extending its influence in other areas of the world, for example,
the Pacific islands, the Caribbean, and Asia. (15)
Faith-based organizations (FBOs): Church-related social service organizations. (3)
Fast track authority: Also called “trade promotion authority,” it allows the U.S. Trade
Representative to negotiate an agreement on non-tariff barriers to trade with other nations that the
president can then present to Congress for its approval without allowing changes. (15)
Federal assistance programs: Federal welfare programs that took three forms: general
assistance in the form of cash and commodities; work assistance in the form of jobs and job
training; and categorical assistance targeted at specific populations. (14)
Federalist Papers: A series of editorials written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and
John Jay in 1788 to support the ratification of the Constitution in New York State. Now regarded
as a major source of information on what the framers were thinking when they wrote the
Constitution. (2)
Federation: A system in which the authority of government is shared by both national and state
governments. In its ideal form, a federal constitution gives the national government exclusive
authority over some governmental tasks, while giving the states exclusive authority over other
governmental matters; there are also some areas where the two levels of government share
authority. (2)
Feudalism : A medieval political and economic system in which landless families secured
protection and the use of farmland in exchange for providing services and resources to the land’s
owner. (2)
Filibuster: A prolonged debate in the Senate that is intended to kill a bill by preventing a vote on
it. (10)
First Concurrent Budget Resolution: The recommendation for spending ceilings in major
funding categories. It is submitted to the House and Senate by their respective budget committees
and must be passed by April 15. (10)
Fiscal policy: The management of government expenditures and tax rates as a means for
conducting national economic policy. Policymakers raise or lower government spending and
taxes to execute fiscal policy. (14)
Flexible response: The military strategy adopted by the United States during the 1960s that
shifted emphasis from solely nuclear weapons to increasing the United States’ ability to engage in
limited, conventional wars in order to make deterrence more credible. (15)
Foreign aid: Assistance provided by the United States to another country. This usually takes the
form of a grant of money or supplies, but it can also be a low-interest loan. (15)
Foreign and defense policies: Those governmental decisions and actions that are intended to
deal with problems and issues in the international arena. (15)
Foreign Service: The core personnel system of the State Department, consisting of some 3,500
people with expertise and training in foreign policy. (15)
Formal recognition: The act whereby the president publicly accepts and acknowledges the
sovereignty and government of another nation and receives its ambassador in Washington as that
country’s official representative. (15)
Formula grants: Grants given to states and localities on the basis of population, the number of
eligible persons, per capita income, or other factors. (3)
Franking privilege: The power of members of Congress to send out mail free of charge; this
allows incumbents to cultivate a favorable image among their constituents. (10)
Free riders: Those who benefit from the actions of interest groups without spending time or
money to aid those groups. (8)
Free trade: An international economic policy that calls for the abolition of tariffs and other
barriers so that goods and services may be exchanged freely among nations. (14)
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A public disclosure law that requires federal agencies to
release information upon written request. (12)
Front-loading: The scheduling of primaries very early in the campaign season by states eager to
have an early influence on the Republican and Democratic nomination process, as occurred in
2004. (7)
Full faith and credit: The requirement, found in Article IV of the Constitution, that each state
respect in all ways the acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the other states. (2)
General jurisdiction: The power of trial courts to hear cases on a broad range of issues,
ordinarily including all civil cases involving nontrivial monetary value and all cases involving
serious criminal matters. (13)
General revenue sharing: A small but innovative grant-in-aid program, used in the 1970s and
1980s, that had no significant conditions attached to it. State and local governments received
funds according to a formula based on population and related factors. (3)
General Schedule (GS) civil service system: The merit-based system that covers most whitecollar and technical positions in the federal government. (12)
General service governments: Local governments, such as counties, municipalities, and
townships, that provide a wide range of public services to those who live within their borders. (3)
Gerrymandering: The practice by the party controlling the state legislature of drawing
congressional and other district boundaries to maximize the number of seats it can win. (10)
Globalization: The idea that an increasing amount of human activity and social interrelations are
being conducted on a global scale, rather than at the local, regional, or national levels that have
been predominant for the past several centuries. (14)
Government: Those institutions and officials whose purpose it is to write and enact laws and to
execute and enforce public policy. (1)
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA): Legislation requiring all federal
agencies to provide annual performance plans and reports to Congress. (12)
Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs): Federally initiated organizations designed to
operate as if they were privately owned and operated, usually established for specific functions
that serve targeted populations, e.g., helping to support inexpensive student loans. Many
eventually are privatized. (12)
Governmental corporations: Public agencies that carry out specific economic or service
functions (such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Postal Service) and are
organized in the same way as private corporations. (12)
Grant-in-aid programs: Federal appropriations that are given to states and localities to fund
state policies and programs. The Morrill Act (1862) was the first instance of such a program. (3)
Grassroots pressure: Lobbying by rank-and-file members of an interest group who use such
tactics as letter writing and public protests to influence government. (8)
Great Compromise: The proposal offered by the Connecticut delegation to the Constitutional
Convention in 1787. It called for the establishment of a bicameral congress, consisting of a House
in which states were represented according to their population size and a Senate in which each
state had an equal voice. (2)
Home style: The way in which incumbent members of Congress present themselves to their
constituents in an attempt to win the voters’ trust. (10)
Homeland security: Domestic programs intended to prevent and, when necessary, deal with the
consequences of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. (3)
Ideologies: Conceptual tools used to help us think about whether government is doing what it
ought to be doing. (1)
Impeachment: A formal charge of misconduct brought against a federal public official by the
House of Representatives. If found guilty of the charge by the Senate, the official is removed
from office. (2)
Implied powers: Those powers given to Congress by Article I, Section 8, clause 18, of the
Constitution that are not specifically named but are provided for by the necessary and proper
clause. (2)
Impoundment: Withholding by a president of funds that have been appropriated by Congress.
Used in place of a line-item veto. (11)
Incremental model of decision making: A more realistic model of decision making that sees
public policy as a process of making decisions at the margins of current policies by adding to or
subtracting from those policies. (14)
Incumbent: A candidate who holds the contested office at the time of the election. (7)
Independent agencies: More than 200 agencies that exist outside the EOP and the cabinet
departments. Reporting directly to the president, they perform a wide range of functions, from
environmental protection (EPA) and managing social programs (SSA) to conducting the nation’s
space policy (NASA), and helping the president manage the federal government (GSA and
OPM). (12)
Industrial policy: A comprehensive strategy for using government policies to restructure the
nation’s economy. (14)
Infrastructure projects: High-cost government capital investment projects such as highways
and school buildings that are provided to support and enhance the economic health of the nation.
(14)
Initiative and referendum: Methods of democratic decision making that place questions of
public policy on the ballot for voters to consider directly. Initiatives are placed on the ballot by
petition, whereas a referendum is generated by the legislature. (1)
Inspector general: An official in a government agency who is assigned the task of investigating
complaints or suspicious behavior. (12)
Intelligence-gathering agencies: Organizations such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
and the National Security Agency (NSA) that are responsible for gathering and analyzing
information relevant to foreign and defense policymaking. (15)
Interest group: Any organized group of individuals who share common goals and seek to
influence government decision making. (8)
Intergovernmental lobby: The many individuals and groups that have a special interest in the
policies and programs implemented through the growing intergovernmental relations systems.
These lobbyists represent private, consumer, and business groups. (3)
Intergovernmental relations: The style of federalism that recognizes the interdependence of
Washington and state and local governments. The various levels of government share functions,
and each level is able to influence the others. (3)
International organizations: Bodies composed of member states that provide an institutional
arena for today’s world politics; an example is the United Nations. (15)
Interstate commerce: Trade across state lines; in contrast to intrastate (within state boundaries)
trade and foreign trade. (3)
Isolationism: A basic tenet of American policy before World War I that advocated American
neutrality and avoidance of direct involvement in European affairs. (15)
Issue identification: The first of six stages in policymaking, in which some event, person, or
group calls attention to a problem that needs government action. (14)
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS): A group of high-ranking military officers who represent the army,
navy, air force, and marines. They provide advice to the president and coordinate military actions
undertaken by U.S. forces. (15)
Joint Commands: The basic command structures used by the U.S. military to coordinate
operations in various regions of the world. (15)
Joint committees: Congressional committees that are usually permanent and consist of an equal
number of members from each house. (10)
Judicial activism: The concept that the Court has both a right and an obligation to engage in
judicial review; today it is usually justified as necessary for the defense of political minorities.
(13)
Judicial restraint: Limited and infrequent use of judicial review. It is advocated on the grounds
that unelected judges should not overrule laws passed by elected representatives. (13)
Judicial review: The power of the courts to declare acts of Congress to be in conflict with the
Constitution. This power makes the courts part of the system of checks and balances. (2)
Judicial review: The power of courts to declare an act of a legislature constitutional or
unconstitutional. (13)
Keynesians: Followers of economist John Maynard Keynes. They advocate government
spending when the economy is sluggish (even if a deficit results) in order to revive the economy.
(14)
Legislative veto: A device in a bill that allowed Congress or a congressional committee to veto
the actions of an executive agency or the president in an area covered by the bill. It was declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1983. (10)
Legitimacy: The belief of citizens in a government’s right to pass and enforce laws. (2)
Libel: The use of print or pictures to harm someone’s reputation; it is punishable by criminal law
and subject to civil suits for damages. (4)
Liberalism: A set of ideological beliefs usually favoring government intervention in the
economy, but tending to oppose government interference in the private lives of individuals. (1)
Libertarianism: The ideological belief that government should do no more than what is
minimally necessary in the areas of both economic affairs and personal freedom. (1)
Limited jurisdiction: The power of certain trial courts that are allowed to hear only a narrowly
defined class of cases. (13)
Line-item veto: The power to veto portions of a bill but sign the rest of it. The president was
given this power in 1997, but the act giving him this power was ruled unconstitutional. (11)
Lobbying: The act of trying to influence government decision makers; it is named after the
public rooms in which it first took place. (8)
Lobbyist: An individual who works for a specific interest group or who serves as the
spokesperson for a specific set of interests. (8)
Magna Carta: A document signed by King John in 1215 reaffirming the long-standing rights and
duties of the English nobility and the limits placed on the king. It stands for the principle that
government is limited and that everyone, including the king, must obey the law. (2)
Majoritarian view of power: The view that political power should be distributed as equally as
possible in a political system in order to facilitate meaningful majority rule. (1)
Majority leader: The second-ranking party position in the House (and the first in the Senate).
The majority leader schedules floor action on bills and guides the party’s legislative program
through the House. (10)
Majority-minority districts: Congressional districts that create a political majority for a racial or
ethnic minority. (10)
Massive retaliation: The military strategy favored by the United States during the 1950s, which
involved warning the Soviet Union and its allies that any military confrontation could produce an
annihilating nuclear attack on Moscow and other Soviet cities. (15)
Matching grants: Programs in which the national government requires recipient governments to
provide a certain percentage of the funds needed to implement the programs. (3)
Mayflower Compact: A document written by the Pilgrims that set forth major principles for the
Plymouth Colony’s government. (2)
Merit system: A system that stresses the ability, education, and job performance of government
employees rather than their political backgrounds. (12)
Minority leader: The head of the minority party in the Senate. Also the leader of the minority
party in the House, who represents its interests by consulting with the Speaker and the majority
leader on the scheduling of bills and rules for floor action. (10)
Monetarists: A group of economists who reject the argument that constant government
intervention in the economy can bring either sustained prosperity or stability. (14)
Monetary policy: The manipulation of the money supply in order to control the economy. The
Federal Reserve System, or the “Fed,” is the principal mechanism for making monetary policy.
(14)
Monroe Doctrine: An American policy, established in 1823, that warned European nations not
to interfere in Latin America while promising that the United States would not interfere in
European affairs. (15)
Mood theory: The theory that the public’s main influence on policy is indirect, in that the
public’s perceived willingness to accept certain programs carries weight in policy decisions. (15)
Multinational corporations (MNCs): Large, private, for-profit organizations that operate
transnationally; General Electric and IBM are examples. (15)
Mutual assured destruction (MAD): The strategy that evolved in the 1960s whereby each of the
nuclear powers would hold the other in check by maintaining the ability to annihilate the other in
any major nuclear confrontation. (15)
Myths: Those stories, proverbial sayings, pervasive attitudes, and other narratives that we use to
help us think about the world around us. (1)
National debt: The total amount of money the government owes as a result of spending more
than it has taken in. (14)
National security advisor: The head of the National Security Council staff, who may sometimes
have a strong influence on foreign and defense policies. (15)
National Security Council (NSC): A council created by Congress in 1947 to advise the
president on foreign policy and to coordinate its implementation. (15)
National security policy: A term used to focus on those policies, programs, and strategies related
to the defense and safety of the country. (15)
National supremacy: The principle—stated in Article VI, the “supremacy clause”—that makes
the Constitution and those laws and treaties passed under it the “supreme law of the land.” (2)
Nation-centered federalism: The view that the authority of the national government goes
beyond the responsibilities listed in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution; it is based on the
necessary and proper clause and the principle of national supremacy. (3)
Necessary and proper clause: The eighteenth clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution,
which establishes “implied powers” for Congress that go beyond those powers listed elsewhere in
the Constitution. (2)
NIMBY (“not in my backyard”): A phrase used to describe the tendency of communities to
reject proposals to locate undesirable public facilities in their area. (3)
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): Transnational, not-for-profit organizations that
operate as advocacy groups in the international arena. (15)
Nonpartisan primary: A primary in which candidates are listed on a ballot with no party
identification. (7)
Office of Management and Budget (OMB): An EOP agency that acts as the president’s
principal link to most federal agencies. The agency supervises matters relating to program and
budget requests. (12)
Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI): Created by the Intelligence Reform and
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, this agency has overall responsibility for the activities of
intelligence agencies and serves as the chief advisor on intelligence matters for the president, the
National Security Council, and the Department of Homeland Security. (15)
Ombudsman: A person in a government agency who is responsible for hearing citizen
complaints or problems related to government programs and policies. (12)
Open primary: A primary election in which any qualified voter may participate, regardless of
party affiliation. The voter chooses one party ballot at the polling place. (7)
Open race: An election in which there is no incumbent in the race. (7)
Opinion direction: One’s position in favor of or against a particular issue. Much of the time
there are various shades of support for an issue, with no clear and precise direction of public
opinion. (5)
Opinion intensity: The strength of one’s opinion about an issue. (5)
Opinion saliency: One’s perception of the relevancy of an issue. (5)
Opinion stability: The degree to which public opinion on an issue changes over time. (5)
Opportunity structure: The political ladder of local, state, and national offices that brings
greater prestige and power as one moves toward the presidency. (7)
Original jurisdiction: The authority to hear a case before any other court does. (13)
Originalism: An approach to interpreting the Constitution that seeks to rely on the words of the
framers. (2)
Partisan primary: A primary in which candidates run for their own party’s nomination. (7)
Party dealignment: A period in which the public disassociates itself from both parties and splits
its votes between them. (6)
Party identification: The tendency of people to think of themselves as Democrats, Republicans,
or independents. (5)
Party realignment: A major shift by voters from one party to another that occurs when one party
becomes dominant in the political system, controlling the presidency and Congress, and many
state legislatures as well. (6)
Party whips: Members of Congress who support the party leaders in the House and Senate by
communicating the party’s positions to the membership and keeping the leaders informed of
members’ views. (10)
Party-as-organization: An entity with few members, primarily consisting of state and county
chairpersons and ward and precinct captains, who work for the party throughout the year,
recruiting candidates and participating in fundraising activities. (6)
Party-centered campaign: A campaign in which the party coordinates activities, raises money,
and develops strategies. (6)
Party-centered campaign: A campaign in which the party coordinates activities, raises money,
and develops strategies. (7)
Party-in-government: The individuals who have been elected or appointed to a government
office under a party label. They play a major role in organizing government and in setting policy.
(6)
Party-in-the-electorate: The coalition of everyone who identifies with a particular party and
tends to vote for that party’s candidates; these people may also contribute to its campaigns. (6)
Patronage: A system of filling government positions in which individuals receive positions
through noncompetitive means. It is used both as a means for rewarding supporters and to bridge
divisions within the country through access to positions of power. (12)
Pendleton Act: A law passed in 1883 that established the first merit-based personnel system for
the federal government. (12)
Penny press: The term for the first generation of newspapers with mass popular appeal. The
name comes from the New York Sun, which was sold for a penny a copy in the mid-1800s. (9)
Platforms: Statements of party goals and specific policy agendas that are taken seriously by the
party’s candidates but are not binding. (6)
Pluralist model of decision making: A theory that attributes policy outcomes to pressures
exerted by different interest groups. (14)
Pluralist view of power: The view that political power should be dispersed among many elites
who share a common acceptance of the rules of the game. (1)
Pocket veto: A decision by the president not to sign a bill during the last ten days of a term,
effectively killing the bill. (11)
Police powers: The powers of state governments over the regulation of behavior within their
borders. These police powers were used to justify state jurisdiction over economic matters. (3)
Policy adoption: The fourth stage of policymaking, which is usually a fight to gain governmental
support for a policy and demands much bargaining and compromise. (14)
Policy evaluation: The final stage in the policymaking process: looking at the government’s
actions and programs to see whether their goals have been achieved or to assess their
effectiveness and efficiency. (14)
Policy formulation: The third stage of policymaking, in which policymakers and their staffs
deliberate the pros and cons of different courses of action, a process that may take years to
complete. (14)
Policy implementation: The carrying out of policy mandates through public programs and
actions—the fifth stage in the policymaking process. (14)
Policy subgovernments: Alliances and relationships among specific agencies, interest groups,
and relevant members of Congress that have been capable of effectively exercising authority in a
narrowly defined policy area, such as transportation and farm price supports. Powerful alliances
often form cozy triangles, like the tobacco subgovernment; looser alliances involving a wide
range of actors are called issue networks. (12)
Political action committee (PAC): An independent organization that can be established by
interest groups, officeholders, and political candidates for the sole purpose of contributing money
to the campaigns of candidates who sympathize with its aims. PACs are the result of federal laws
that prohibit most interest groups from donating money to political campaigns. (6)
Political action committees (PACs): Organizations set up solely for the purpose of contributing
money to the campaigns of candidates who sympathize with particular goals. A PAC need not be
affiliated with an interest group but can be unaffiliated, representing an ideological position or
even a candidate or officeholder. (8)
Political appointees: Government officials who occupy the most strategically important
positions in the federal government; most of them are appointed by the president. (12)
Political consultant: An individual, often trained in public relations, media, or polling
techniques, who advises candidates on organizing their campaign. (7)
Political culture: A set of values, beliefs, and traditions about politics and government that are
shared by most members of society. Political culture in the United States includes faith in
democracy, representative government, freedom of speech, and individual rights. (5)
Political efficacy: The perception of one’s ability to have an impact on the political system. (5)
Political ideology: A pattern of complex political ideas presented in an understandable structure
that inspires people to act to achieve certain goals. (5)
Political participation: Taking part in any of a broad range of activities, from involvement in
learning about politics to engagement in efforts that directly affect the structure of government,
the selection of government authorities, or the policies of government. (5)
Political party: In the United States, a coalition of people organized formally to recruit,
nominate, and elect individuals to office and to use elected office to achieve shared political
goals. (6)
Political public opinion: The collective preferences expressed by people on political issues,
policies, institutions, and individuals. (5)
Political socialization: The process by which individuals acquire political values and knowledge
about politics. It is strongly influenced by people with whom an individual has contact from early
childhood through adulthood. (5)
Politics: Those activities aimed at influencing or controlling government for the purpose of
formulating or guiding public policy. (1)
Poor laws: British laws enacted in the early 1600s that made local communities responsible for
taking care of their own needy and sick. They were used as the basis for American social policies
early in the nation’s history. (14)
Popular sovereignty: The concept, first described by Jean-Jacques Rousseau around the time of
the American Revolution, that the best form of government is one that reflects the general will of
the people, which is the sum total of those interests that all citizens have in common. (2)
Populism: A set of ideological beliefs that tends to favor government intervention in both
economic and personal affairs. (1)
Pork-barrel legislation: Legislation that appropriates funds for local projects in an area that a
member of Congress represents. (10)
Power: The capacity and ability to influence the behavior and choices of others through the use
of politically relevant resources. (1)
Precinct: The bottom of the typical local party structure—a voting district, generally covering an
area of several blocks. (6)
Preferments: The provision of services or contracts in return for political support. Party
committee members use patronage and preferments to court voters and obtain campaign
contributions. (6)
Preferred freedoms test: The principle that some freedoms—such as free speech—are so
fundamental to a democracy that they merit special protection. The test was instituted by the
Warren Court of the 1960s. (4)
Primary: An election in which party members select candidates to run for office under the party
banner. (7)
Priming: The capacity of the media to isolate particular issues, events, or themes in the news as
the criteria for evaluating politicians. (9)
Prior restraint: The government’s blocking of a publication before it can be made available to
the public. The Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down laws imposing prior restraint on
publications. (4)
Privatization: The process of turning the work of government agencies over to the private sector.
(12)
Privileges and immunities: A provision in Article IV of the Constitution requiring that the
citizens of one state not be treated unreasonably by officials of another state. (2)
Project grants: Grants awarded to states and localities for a specific program or plan of action.
(3)
Proportional representation: The electoral system used by many European nations in which
legislative seats are assigned to party candidates in proportion to the percentage of the vote that
the party receives within the district. (6)
Proxy administration: The government’s use of indirect means to deliver public goods and
services, such as contracting, grants-in-aid, loan guarantees, and government-sponsored
enterprises. (12)
Pseudo-events: Events, such as speeches, rallies, and personal appearances, that are staged by
politicians simply to win maximum media coverage. (9)
Public diplomacy: The officially sanctioned use of media and other information technology,
cultural, and education programs, and related means to promote the understanding and acceptance
of a country’s values and interests. (15)
Public interest groups: Citizen activist groups that try to represent what they deem to be the
interests of the public at large. (8)
Public policies: Decisions made and actions taken by government officials in response to
problems identified and issues raised through the political system. (14)
Public-sector interest groups: A lobby that represents the interests of elected officials and other
major governmental actors involved in the intergovernmental relations system. An example is the
National Governors’ Association. (3)
Quasi-judicial functions: Judicial functions performed by regulatory commissions. Agencies can
hold hearings for companies or individuals accused of violating agency regulations. Commission
decisions can be appealed to the federal courts. (12)
Quasi-legislative functions: Lawmaking functions performed by regulatory commissions as
authorized by Congress. (12)
Random probability sampling: A method by which pollsters choose interviewees, based on the
idea that the opinions of individuals selected by chance will be representative of the opinions of
the population at large. (5)
Rational model of decision making: The ideal process in which a policymaker has a clear
objective and all the information needed to make a sound and reasoned decision, with the result
being the selection of the best way to achieve the desired goal. (14)
Regional organizations: International organizations composed of nations from a particular area
of the world that perform defensive or economic functions. (15)
Regulatory commissions: Federal agencies led by presidentially appointed boards that make and
enforce policies affecting various sectors of the U.S. economy. Formally independent of the
White House to avoid presidential interference, these agencies employ large professional staffs to
help them carry out their many functions. (12)
Reinventing government: An approach to bureaucratic reform adopted by the Clinton
administration that emphasized empowerment and decentralization in order to enhance the
performance of government agencies and programs. (12)
Representative democracy: A system in which people govern indirectly by electing certain
individuals to make decisions on their behalf. (1)
Republic: A system in which people govern indirectly by electing certain individuals to make
decisions on their behalf. (1)
Republicanism: A doctrine of government in which decisions are made by elected or appointed
officials who are answerable to the people, not directly by the people themselves. (2)
Reserved powers: The powers that the Constitution provides for the states, although it does not
list them specifically; sometimes called “residual powers.” As stated in the Tenth Amendment,
these include all powers not expressly given to the national government or denied to the states.
(2)
Retrospective voting: Individuals basing their votes on the candidates’ or parties’ past record of
performance. (7)
Riders: Provisions, usually unrelated, that are attached to a bill; in general, these are provisions
that Congress knows the president opposes that are attached to bills that the president otherwise
desires. (11)
Rule of law: The principle that there is a standard of impartiality, fairness, and equality against
which all government actions can be evaluated. More narrowly, the concept that no individual
stands above the law and that rulers, like those they rule, are answerable to the law. One of the
most important legacies of the framers of the Constitution. (2)
Runoff primary: An electoral contest between the top two vote getters in the primary that
determines the party’s candidate in a general election. Such primaries are held in the ten southern
states in which a majority of the vote is needed to win the primary. (7)
Search warrant: A written grant of permission to conduct a search issued by a neutral magistrate
to police authorities. Police must describe what they expect to find and must show “probable
cause.” (4)
Select, or special, committees: Temporary committees established by the House or Senate to
study particular problems. (10)
Selective incorporation: The Supreme Court’s practice of making applicable to the states only
those portions of the Bill of Rights that a majority of justices felt to be fundamental to a
democratic society. (4)
Senior Executive Service (SES): The highest category of senior level federal employees, most of
whom form a select group of career public administrators who specialize in agency management.
(12)
Seniority system: The tradition that provides that the member of the majority party with the
longest continuous service on a committee automatically becomes its chair. (10)
Separation of powers: The division of the powers to make, execute, and judge the law among
the three branches of American government: Congress, the presidency, and the courts. This
principle was adopted by the framers to prevent tyranny and factionalism in the government. (2)
Signing statements: Comments and clarifications that presidents attach to congressional acts
when they sign them into law. In recent events, controversy has surrounded the presidential use of
these directives to agencies about how the law is to be interpreted and implemented. (2)
Single-issue group: An activist group that seeks to lobby Congress on a single issue or a narrow
range of issues. (8)
Single-member district, winner-take-all electoral system: The system of election used in the
United States in all national and state elections and in most local elections; officials are elected
from districts that are served by only one legislator, and a candidate must win a plurality—the
most votes. (6)
Slander: Injury by spoken word. Like libel, it is outside First Amendment protection and
punishable by criminal law and civil suits. (4)
Social insurance programs: Social policy programs administered by the Social Security
Administration (SSA) that are intended to cover income losses due to long-term illnesses,
unemployment, retirement, and other interruptions to a person’s working life. (14)
Social regulation programs: Programs aimed at protecting consumers from the hazards of life in
a highly industrialized economic system. (14)
Soft money: Unrestricted contributions to political parties by individuals, corporations, and
unions that can be spent on party-building activities such as voter registration drives and get-out-
the vote efforts. The problem is that loopholes in the law allow soft money to also be spent in
support of party candidates as long as key words such as “elect,” “vote for,” or “vote against” do
not appear in the ads. (7)
Sovereignty: The ultimate source of authority in any political system. (3)
Speaker of the House: The only House position created by the Constitution. The Speaker is
chosen by a vote of the majority party and is the presiding officer of the House, the leader of its
majority party, and second in line to succeed the president. (10)
Special district governments: Local governments that deal with one or two distinctive
government functions, such as education, fire protection, public transportation, or sewage
treatment. (3)
Spoils system: Taken from the phrase “to the victor goes the spoils,” a patronage system in
which government jobs at all levels are given to members of the party that has won the top
political office. (12)
Standard operating procedures (SOPs): Regularized procedures used in public agencies to help
the agencies conduct administrative business effectively and efficiently. (12)
Standing committees: Permanently established committees that consider proposed legislation in
specified policy areas and decide whether to recommend its passage by the larger body. (10)
State-centered federalism: The view that the Constitution allowed the national government only
limited powers and that the states could overrule national laws if they determined that those laws
were in violation of the Constitution. (3)
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): A plan endorsed by President Reagan that called for the
development of a space-based defense shield against nuclear attack. Also referred to as “Star
Wars.” (15)
Straw polls: Polls that rely on an unsystematic selection of respondents. The respondents in
straw polls frequently are not representative of the public at large. (5)
Superdelegates: Delegates to the national convention who are not elected in a primary or
selected in a caucus but who serve as delegates based on being elected officials. State parties can
also designate a limited number of additional superdelegates to attend the national convention. (7)
Supply-side economics: An economic policy strategy popular during the Reagan administration
that advocates increasing the production of goods by cutting taxes to help stimulate investment,
lifting regulations in the marketplace, and eliminating other government restraints on private
business initiatives. (14)
Supremacy clause: A provision in Article VI declaring the Constitution to be the supreme law of
the land, taking precedence over state laws. (2)
Tariffs: Taxes on goods brought into the country from abroad; they are often intended to protect
growing industries from foreign competition. (14)
Tax incentives: A tax break used to reward people for investing or spending in a way that
promotes economic growth. (14)
Textualism: An approach to interpreting the Constitution that relies on a literal, “plain words”
reading of the document. (2)
Thematic reporting: Reporting that puts the issue in a larger, more abstract context; provides indepth background on it; and leads the public to attribute responsibility to societal forces or the
motives and actions of public officials. (9)
Transnational organizations: Large-scale nongovernmental organizations that perform
relatively specialized functions across state borders; the Red Cross is an example. (15)
Treaties: Legally binding pacts by which two or more nations formalize an agreement reached
through negotiation. (15)
Treaty ratification: The power of the U.S. Senate to approve or disapprove formal treaties
negotiated by the president on behalf of the nation. (2)
Trial courts: Courts at the lowest level of the system. They possess original jurisdiction. (13)
Unfunded mandates: Required actions imposed on lower-level governments by federal (and
state) governments that are not accompanied by money to pay for the activities being mandated.
(3)
Unicameral: Refers to a legislature that has only one house. (2)
Unilateralism: The pre–World War I American policy of taking action independently in foreign
affairs, avoiding political or military alliances. (15)
Unitary executive theory: The idea that the Constitution gives the president the authority to
oversee and manage the work of federal agencies to ensure that their priorities and actions are
consistent with the views of the White House regarding existing laws and policies. (12)
Unitary system: A form of government in which the ultimate authority rests with the national
government, with whatever powers state or local governments have being given to them by the
central government. (2)
Veto: The president’s power to reject legislation passed by Congress. Vetoes can be overruled by
a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress. (2)
Wage systems: Federal personnel systems covering over a million federal workers who perform
blue-collar and related jobs and are largely represented by unions or other associations with
limited bargaining rights. (12)
Wall of separation: An interpretation of the establishment clause that requires a complete
separation of government and religion. (4)
Ward: A city council district; in the party organization, this is the level below the citywide level.
(6)
Washington’s Farewell Address: A statement to the American public by George Washington
that is regarded as the basic expression of the foundations of U.S. foreign policy. (15)
Weapons of mass destruction (WMD): A term applied to nuclear, chemical, biological, and
radiological weapons subject to indiscriminate use that are likely to cause casualties on a massive
scale. (15)
Weinberger Doctrine: A set of principles regarding the use of the U.S. military articulated by
Reagan’s secretary of defense. It became the basis for military strategy for the 1980s and most of
the 1990s. (15)
Whistle-blowers: Employees who risk their careers by reporting corruption or waste in their
agencies to oversight officials. (12)
White House Office: An EOP agency that includes the president’s key advisers and assistants
who help him with the daily requirements of the presidency. (12)
Worker protection programs: Government programs that protect workers in the areas of
discrimination, workers’ rights, and occupational safety and health. (14)
Writ of certiorari: An order by the Supreme Court that a lower court send up the record of a
case. (13)
Writ of habeas corpus: A court order that protects people against arbitrary arrest and detention
by requiring officials to bring the “body” (i.e., the person) before the court. (2)
Yellow journalism: A type of journalism that flourished in the late nineteenth century and whose
popularity was based on sensationalized stories of scandal and corruption. (9)