Poli Sci 100 - UNC - Exam 1 Terms Latest Update
Politics - ANSWER the process of making collective decisions to allocate public
resources and to create and enforce rules for the operation of society
Political System - ANSWER the way a society organizes and manages its politics
across various levels of public authority
Preferences - ANSWER needs or wants of people
Institutions - ANSWER rules or sets of rules or practices that determine how
people make collective decisions (Includes the rules and procedures for passing
laws, interpreting laws, enforcing laws, counting votes and electing
governments, and appointing government employees)
Types of political institutions - ANSWER branches of government, organizations,
rules and procedures
Federal Systems - ANSWER multiple levels of government with independent
authority over important areas of policy
Collective dilemma - ANSWER when there is a conflict between group goals and
individual goals or self-interest
Public good - ANSWER refers to a benefit provided to a group of people that
each member can enjoy without necessarily having to pay for it and one
person's enjoyment of it does not inhibit the enjoyment of it by others
Private good - ANSWER a product or benefit provided such that its enjoyment
can be limited to specific people and one individuals consumption of it precludes
others from consuming it
Free riding - ANSWER benefiting from a public good while avoiding the costs of
contributing to it
, Collective-action problem - ANSWER a situation in which people would be better
off if they all cooperated - however any individual has an incentive not to
cooperate as long as others are cooperating
Prisoner's dilemma - ANSWER an interaction between two strategic actors in
which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though both would be
better off if they both cooperated
Coordination problem - ANSWER a situation in which two or more people are all
better off if they coordinate on a common course of action , but there is more
than one possible course of action to take
Minimum winning collection - ANSWER the smallest size - coalition necessary to
achieve a goal
Unstable coalitions - ANSWER an instance in which three or more people must
make collective choice from a set of alternative, but any voting coalition in favor
of an alternative can be divided by consideration of another alternative
Agenda Setter - ANSWER an authority that controls what options are decided on
by a group
Principle - agent problem ( delegation problem ) - ANSWER an instance in which
one actor, a principal, contracts another actor, an agent, to act on the
principal;s behalf, but the actors may not share the same preferences, and the
principal lacks the means to observe all of the agents behavior
Bureaucrat - ANSWER any government employee which is not part of ruling
powers
Bureaucracy - ANSWER an agency or office devoted to carrying out tasks for the
government in a manner consistent with the law
Public Policies - ANSWER programs and decisions by the government that are
enforced by the rule of law
Path dependence - ANSWER the notion that earlier events or decisions deeply
affect current and future policy decisions or outcomes
Authoritarianism - ANSWER a political system in which there is no expectation
that the government represents the people, and the institutions of government
do not give the people a direct voice in who will lead
Dictatorship - ANSWER an authoritarian political system in which sovereign
power is vested in one individual
Politics - ANSWER the process of making collective decisions to allocate public
resources and to create and enforce rules for the operation of society
Political System - ANSWER the way a society organizes and manages its politics
across various levels of public authority
Preferences - ANSWER needs or wants of people
Institutions - ANSWER rules or sets of rules or practices that determine how
people make collective decisions (Includes the rules and procedures for passing
laws, interpreting laws, enforcing laws, counting votes and electing
governments, and appointing government employees)
Types of political institutions - ANSWER branches of government, organizations,
rules and procedures
Federal Systems - ANSWER multiple levels of government with independent
authority over important areas of policy
Collective dilemma - ANSWER when there is a conflict between group goals and
individual goals or self-interest
Public good - ANSWER refers to a benefit provided to a group of people that
each member can enjoy without necessarily having to pay for it and one
person's enjoyment of it does not inhibit the enjoyment of it by others
Private good - ANSWER a product or benefit provided such that its enjoyment
can be limited to specific people and one individuals consumption of it precludes
others from consuming it
Free riding - ANSWER benefiting from a public good while avoiding the costs of
contributing to it
, Collective-action problem - ANSWER a situation in which people would be better
off if they all cooperated - however any individual has an incentive not to
cooperate as long as others are cooperating
Prisoner's dilemma - ANSWER an interaction between two strategic actors in
which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though both would be
better off if they both cooperated
Coordination problem - ANSWER a situation in which two or more people are all
better off if they coordinate on a common course of action , but there is more
than one possible course of action to take
Minimum winning collection - ANSWER the smallest size - coalition necessary to
achieve a goal
Unstable coalitions - ANSWER an instance in which three or more people must
make collective choice from a set of alternative, but any voting coalition in favor
of an alternative can be divided by consideration of another alternative
Agenda Setter - ANSWER an authority that controls what options are decided on
by a group
Principle - agent problem ( delegation problem ) - ANSWER an instance in which
one actor, a principal, contracts another actor, an agent, to act on the
principal;s behalf, but the actors may not share the same preferences, and the
principal lacks the means to observe all of the agents behavior
Bureaucrat - ANSWER any government employee which is not part of ruling
powers
Bureaucracy - ANSWER an agency or office devoted to carrying out tasks for the
government in a manner consistent with the law
Public Policies - ANSWER programs and decisions by the government that are
enforced by the rule of law
Path dependence - ANSWER the notion that earlier events or decisions deeply
affect current and future policy decisions or outcomes
Authoritarianism - ANSWER a political system in which there is no expectation
that the government represents the people, and the institutions of government
do not give the people a direct voice in who will lead
Dictatorship - ANSWER an authoritarian political system in which sovereign
power is vested in one individual
