Understanding American Government: Key Concepts and Institutions

Ch. 1: An Introduction to American Government Section 2: What is Government?  Know the names of the following institutions: o The legislatures of the federal government and Georgia o The upper and lower chambers of those two legislatures o The heads of the executive branches of the federal government and Georgia government o The highest courts in the judicial branches of the federal government and Georgia government  Which branch of government are bureaucratic agencies a part of: legislative, executive, or judicial? executive  What does the “power of the sword” mean? According to the textbook, do all governments claim to have legitimate authority to wield this power, or is it only certain kinds of government that claim that power? The power of the sword refers to the fact that all governments have a monopoly on legitimate violence. This is something all governments claim.  All governments claim sovereignty over a particular territory. What does “sovereignty” mean in this context? Sovereignty means that all governments claim the right to govern within their territory without interference from foreign actors, as well as the right to defend their territories and interests from acts of aggression via the military Section 3: Two More Ways Governments Exercise Power over the People  What does “relational power” mean (as in “A has power over B”)? A has the power to cause b to do something it would otherwise not do  What does “power of the purse” mean? The power of money o How is it different from “power of the sword”? The power of the purse uses negative and positive financial incentives to accomplish its goals o Be able to recognize the difference between government using the power of the purse as “positive incentives” versus as “negative incentives.” Positive incentives offer a financial boon for compliance such as tax exemptions negative incentives offer a fine for failure to comply o Why is using the power of the purse not a part of the definition of government? Governments are not the only organization that use the power of money to exorcise control over others.  What does it mean for government to seek to exercise power by “affecting hearts and minds”? Governments seeking to endure citizenery to itself through propaganda, through propaganda or various campieghns, rituals and ceremonies goverments seeks to acive consentual rule. o Why is affecting hearts and minds not a part of the definition of government? Because its is not unique to goverments alone. o What does “propaganda” mean? According to political philosopher Jason Stanley, is it necessarily a bad thing? It is not inherently good or bad Section 4: A Universal Purpose of Government: Providing Public Goods

 Make sure to understand the definition of these concepts and how they relate to each other: “private goods,” “public goods,” “free riding,” and “collective action problems.” Public good – goods that once provided no one in a group can be excluded from, Private goods – excludable goods, free ride – enjoying the benefits of public goods without bearing part of the burden in providing them, Collective action problems – aa situations where free riding threatens the ablility of a group to provide public goods.  The textbook asserts there are certain public goods that all governments provide. What are these public goods? Security from foreign threats, domestic peace, order and stability Section 5: American Government: A Liberal Democracy  The textbook says American government is a “liberal democracy,” defined as “A system of government that combines democracy with the rule of law , constitutional protections for human rights , the separation of powers , checks and balances , and other institutional devices aimed at promoting limited government .” Make sure you know and understand the definitions of the underlined terms and the definition of liberal democracy.  What’s the difference between a “representative democracy” and a “direct democracy”? direct democracy – the people directly create and enforce laws each vote eighs the same. Representative – the people elect others to represent them and their intrests in government, their vote does not weigh the same. What kind of democracy is American government? representative  What does it mean to say a government is “authoritarian” (or “autocratic”)? How’s an authoritarian/autocratic government different from a democratic government? The government is not controlled by the people but the power is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals.  Make sure to know the definitions of the following terms and what they have to do with the democratic components of American democracy: “interest group” “political party”.  What is a “constitutional government”? Is a country with a “sham constitution” a constitutional government? Why or why not?  In the American system of separation of powers, which branch of government wields the power of the sword and which branch has the power of the purse?  What is “federalism”? Ch. 2: America’s Polarized Politics Section 1: Introduction  How does the textbook define “politics”? we will mean the activities democratic citizens engage in as they struggle to exercise power over government  In the introduction (and again, later, in Section 4), the textbook distinguishes between two modes of political conflict: one that is “a sign of healthy democratic politics” and one that puts “democracy at risk of dying.” What is the difference between the two modes? Pernicious Polarization where conflicting political parties view each other with distrust and enmity Section 2: Lefts versus Right: Ideological Conflict in American Politics

 Know and understand the definitions of these terms: ideology, ideological spectrum, Left side of ideological spectrum, and Right side. o In American politics today, which political party is “on the Left”? What color is associated with that party/ideological orientation? What other two ideological labels are commonly used to refer to that ideological orientation? o Democrats color blue ideological orneintation is greater social and economic equality and resisting heirchies that reenforce inequality favor laws to promote those that have been traditionally opressed, labels liberal, progressive o In American politics today, which party is “on the Right”? What color is associated with that party/orientation? What other ideological label is commonly used to refer to that orientation? o Republican party color red. Conservative, resistant to change towards greater equality.accept the traditional social and economic order. Promote inequalities based on perceived merit. Favor tradition group loyalty and authority.  Make sure to understand how, in general, the Left and Right differ in their perspectives on social issues.  Know and understand the definitions of these economic concepts as discussed in the textbook: market capitalism, communism, social democracy, welfare state, libertarianism. o In general, do Republicans and Democrats agree with critiques of communism and accept some form of market capitalism? Or does one party, or both parties, embrace communism? Both parties critique commism and accept some form of capitalism o Which ideological label (liberal or conservative) describes the Democratic Party’s approach to economic issues? Which of those two labels describes the Republican party’s approach? o Which party (Democrats or Republicans) is most in line with a social democratic form of capitalism and acceptance of the welfare state? democrat o Which party (Democrats or Republicans) is most in line with economic libertarianism and a rejection of the welfare state? republican Section 3: Ideological Differences within Parties

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