State and Local Government Midterm Review
Chapter 1: Introduction to State and Local Politics
--government is the authoritative apparatus around which people gather in an effort to influence
public policy
--collective action is the coordination of a group of people to achieve a common goal
--politics is process that a community uses to determine what government ought to do and how
public goods will be distributed
--jurisdiction is geographical or topical area over which a court, official, or institution has power
or authority
--retention election is where a judge is first appointed to the bench and then is subject to voter
approval for continued service
--political ideology is a relatively coherent and consistent set of beliefs about who ought to rule,
what principles ought to be used to govern, and what policies rulers ought to pursue
--different types of political ideology include liberal, conservative, and libertarian
--political culture is what people think government ought to do and how people should act
toward government
--moralistic political culture is where government is viewed as a tool to improve social
conditions and that citizens should participate in the political process; New England and
Scandinavia are examples
--traditionalistic political culture is where politics is the domain of social and economic elites and
that the have-nots ought not to become involved in politics
--individualistic political culture is where individuals work to advance their personal economic
and social interests largely the same way as they would do in business: mid-Atlantic states are
examples
--divided government is where control of the legislature is split between different parties or when
the president is of one party and the legislature is controlled by another party
--reasons for why states and localities differ from another include geography and history, social
forces, economic characteristics, and political values
--local charter is a constitution for a local government, focusing primarily on the institutions of
that government
, --comparative method entails comparing units of analysis on more than one characteristic to help
understand the relationship among those characteristics; unit of analysis is person, place, or thing
that is being studied
Chapter 2: State and Local Politics within a Federal System
--federalism is the relationship between the national government and its constitutive states where
intergovernmental relations are the interactions among the state, local, and federal governments
--in federalism, power is shared between the federal and state governments; federalism can take
the form of dual with no interaction or cooperative with multiple interactions; Australia and
Mexico are examples of countries with federalism
--in a unitary system, all power is vested in the national government with the states being fully
subject to that power; France and Israel are examples
--in a confederal system, the national government is subject to the authority of the state
governments, which derive the bulk of their powers from their own constitutions; examples are
the European Union and United Nations
--states are laboratories of democracy for different policies and procedures that each may employ
to solve an issue or problem
--dual federalism is where there are no interactions among the national and state governments
where cooperative federalism involves multiple interactions
--Articles of Confederation are significant for not providing a strong central government, which
led to an inability to enforce policy
--local governments are created to better satisfy the needs of the state on a smaller scale; local
governments help to implement state policy under the institutions and responsibilities specified
by the state and deal with the specific needs and interests of that area
--enumerated powers are the powers of the federal government that are specifically expressed in
the constitution; examples are declare war, make treaties, coin money, postal service, etc
--concurrent powers are powers that fall under the authority of both the federal and state
government; examples are make and enforce laws, tax, eminent domain, etc
--implied powers under the necessary and proper clause grant Congress the right to pass all laws
that are needed for carrying out the expressed powers of the federal government
--tenth amendment by the reserve clause allows the states to exercise all powers not delegated to
the national government or prohibited to the states; examples include regulating intrastate
commerce, regulate elections, establish schools, etc
Chapter 1: Introduction to State and Local Politics
--government is the authoritative apparatus around which people gather in an effort to influence
public policy
--collective action is the coordination of a group of people to achieve a common goal
--politics is process that a community uses to determine what government ought to do and how
public goods will be distributed
--jurisdiction is geographical or topical area over which a court, official, or institution has power
or authority
--retention election is where a judge is first appointed to the bench and then is subject to voter
approval for continued service
--political ideology is a relatively coherent and consistent set of beliefs about who ought to rule,
what principles ought to be used to govern, and what policies rulers ought to pursue
--different types of political ideology include liberal, conservative, and libertarian
--political culture is what people think government ought to do and how people should act
toward government
--moralistic political culture is where government is viewed as a tool to improve social
conditions and that citizens should participate in the political process; New England and
Scandinavia are examples
--traditionalistic political culture is where politics is the domain of social and economic elites and
that the have-nots ought not to become involved in politics
--individualistic political culture is where individuals work to advance their personal economic
and social interests largely the same way as they would do in business: mid-Atlantic states are
examples
--divided government is where control of the legislature is split between different parties or when
the president is of one party and the legislature is controlled by another party
--reasons for why states and localities differ from another include geography and history, social
forces, economic characteristics, and political values
--local charter is a constitution for a local government, focusing primarily on the institutions of
that government
, --comparative method entails comparing units of analysis on more than one characteristic to help
understand the relationship among those characteristics; unit of analysis is person, place, or thing
that is being studied
Chapter 2: State and Local Politics within a Federal System
--federalism is the relationship between the national government and its constitutive states where
intergovernmental relations are the interactions among the state, local, and federal governments
--in federalism, power is shared between the federal and state governments; federalism can take
the form of dual with no interaction or cooperative with multiple interactions; Australia and
Mexico are examples of countries with federalism
--in a unitary system, all power is vested in the national government with the states being fully
subject to that power; France and Israel are examples
--in a confederal system, the national government is subject to the authority of the state
governments, which derive the bulk of their powers from their own constitutions; examples are
the European Union and United Nations
--states are laboratories of democracy for different policies and procedures that each may employ
to solve an issue or problem
--dual federalism is where there are no interactions among the national and state governments
where cooperative federalism involves multiple interactions
--Articles of Confederation are significant for not providing a strong central government, which
led to an inability to enforce policy
--local governments are created to better satisfy the needs of the state on a smaller scale; local
governments help to implement state policy under the institutions and responsibilities specified
by the state and deal with the specific needs and interests of that area
--enumerated powers are the powers of the federal government that are specifically expressed in
the constitution; examples are declare war, make treaties, coin money, postal service, etc
--concurrent powers are powers that fall under the authority of both the federal and state
government; examples are make and enforce laws, tax, eminent domain, etc
--implied powers under the necessary and proper clause grant Congress the right to pass all laws
that are needed for carrying out the expressed powers of the federal government
--tenth amendment by the reserve clause allows the states to exercise all powers not delegated to
the national government or prohibited to the states; examples include regulating intrastate
commerce, regulate elections, establish schools, etc
