PSCI 1024, Exam #1, Virginia Tech, Prof. Milly
politics - Answers -the making of common decisions for a group of people through the
exercise of power by some members of the group over other members
Power - Answers -the capacity to bring about actions or results
Manifest Power - Answers -power based on observable action by A that causes B to do
what A wants
Implicit Power - Answers -power in which A does what B desires, not because of
anything B says or does but because 1) A senses that B wants something done and 2)
A wishes to do what B wants done
Authority - Answers -power based on a general agreement that the holder of the power
has the right to issue certain commands and that those commands should be obeyed
Legitimacy - Answers -- The right to rule
- Usually attached to an entire system of govt rather than to just an individual ruler
Max Weber's Three Types of Legitimacy - Answers -Traditional authority, legal-rational
authority, charismatic authority
Political Science - Answers -the academic field that takes as its sole and general task
the analysis of politics, especially the politics of a state
Empirical Theories - Answers -a theory describing how things work in the world we
observe
Normative Theories - Answers -a theory that involves making a judgment about the
world, not describing how it works
Comparative politics - Answers -the subfield of political science that aims to analyze
multiple cases using the comparative method
Conceptualization - Answers -the deliberate process through which we create and
select social-scientific concepts
Sartori's ladder of abstraction - Answers -The idea that we can organize concepts on
the basis of their specificity or generality.
Operationalization - Answers -the process through which we make a concept
measurable
, Evidence - Answers -A set of facts or observations used to support a proposition or
hypothesis
Cases - Answers -in comparative analysis, a unit or example of a phenomenon to be
studied
Political elites - Answers -as people who have prominent positions either in govt or non-
govt organizations and professions that have a real effect on govt actions
Secondary elite - Answers -heads of major corp., leaders of trade unions, religious
authorities, political influential journalists...
Traditional authority - Answers -rests on 'an established belief in the sanctity of
immemorial traditions'
♣ Century-old monarchs (Britain, japan,...) are examples
Legal-rational authority - Answers -rooted in 'the belief in the legality obey virtue of
those rules to issue commands' (who has the right to issue governmental commands
♣ Prominent in democracies
Charismatic authority - Answers -this type attaches itself to a certain uniquely magnetic
or inspiring leader and 'rests upon devotion' of his followers to his 'extraordinary
sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character'
♣ Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, and Buddha.
♣ Hitler, Stalin, FDR
Variation - Answers -An element or factor that is likely to change, or vary, from case to
case
Most-similar-systems - Answers -a research design in which we compare cases that
are similar with respect to a number of factors but with distinct outcomes.
Most-different-systems - Answers -a research design in which we compare cases that
differ with respect to multiple factors but in which the outcome is the same
Comparative checking - Answers -the process of testing the conclusions from a set of
comparisons against additional cases or evidence.
Generalizability - Answers -the quality that a given theory, hypothesis, or finding has of
being applicable to a wide number of cases
State - Answers -The most important form of political organization in modern politics
which its ideal form, is characterized by centralized control of the use of force,
bureaucratic organization, and the provision of a number of public goods
politics - Answers -the making of common decisions for a group of people through the
exercise of power by some members of the group over other members
Power - Answers -the capacity to bring about actions or results
Manifest Power - Answers -power based on observable action by A that causes B to do
what A wants
Implicit Power - Answers -power in which A does what B desires, not because of
anything B says or does but because 1) A senses that B wants something done and 2)
A wishes to do what B wants done
Authority - Answers -power based on a general agreement that the holder of the power
has the right to issue certain commands and that those commands should be obeyed
Legitimacy - Answers -- The right to rule
- Usually attached to an entire system of govt rather than to just an individual ruler
Max Weber's Three Types of Legitimacy - Answers -Traditional authority, legal-rational
authority, charismatic authority
Political Science - Answers -the academic field that takes as its sole and general task
the analysis of politics, especially the politics of a state
Empirical Theories - Answers -a theory describing how things work in the world we
observe
Normative Theories - Answers -a theory that involves making a judgment about the
world, not describing how it works
Comparative politics - Answers -the subfield of political science that aims to analyze
multiple cases using the comparative method
Conceptualization - Answers -the deliberate process through which we create and
select social-scientific concepts
Sartori's ladder of abstraction - Answers -The idea that we can organize concepts on
the basis of their specificity or generality.
Operationalization - Answers -the process through which we make a concept
measurable
, Evidence - Answers -A set of facts or observations used to support a proposition or
hypothesis
Cases - Answers -in comparative analysis, a unit or example of a phenomenon to be
studied
Political elites - Answers -as people who have prominent positions either in govt or non-
govt organizations and professions that have a real effect on govt actions
Secondary elite - Answers -heads of major corp., leaders of trade unions, religious
authorities, political influential journalists...
Traditional authority - Answers -rests on 'an established belief in the sanctity of
immemorial traditions'
♣ Century-old monarchs (Britain, japan,...) are examples
Legal-rational authority - Answers -rooted in 'the belief in the legality obey virtue of
those rules to issue commands' (who has the right to issue governmental commands
♣ Prominent in democracies
Charismatic authority - Answers -this type attaches itself to a certain uniquely magnetic
or inspiring leader and 'rests upon devotion' of his followers to his 'extraordinary
sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character'
♣ Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, and Buddha.
♣ Hitler, Stalin, FDR
Variation - Answers -An element or factor that is likely to change, or vary, from case to
case
Most-similar-systems - Answers -a research design in which we compare cases that
are similar with respect to a number of factors but with distinct outcomes.
Most-different-systems - Answers -a research design in which we compare cases that
differ with respect to multiple factors but in which the outcome is the same
Comparative checking - Answers -the process of testing the conclusions from a set of
comparisons against additional cases or evidence.
Generalizability - Answers -the quality that a given theory, hypothesis, or finding has of
being applicable to a wide number of cases
State - Answers -The most important form of political organization in modern politics
which its ideal form, is characterized by centralized control of the use of force,
bureaucratic organization, and the provision of a number of public goods
