Sociology Chapter 15 Vocabulary

Political Action Committee

An organization formed by one or more special-interest groups to solicit and spend funds for the purpose of influencing legislation.

City-State

An independent city whose power radiates outward, bringing the adjacent area under its rule.

Anarchy

A condition of lawlessness or political disorder caused by the absence or collapse of governmental authority.

Direct Democracy

A form of democracy in which the eligible voters meet together to discuss issues and make their decisions.

Representative Democracy

A form of democracy in which voters elect representatives to meet together to discuss issues and make decisions on their behalf.

Monarchy

A form of government headed by a king or queen.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which a small group of individuals hold power; the rule of the many by the few.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which an individual has seized power.

Totalitarianism

A form of government that exerts almost total control over people

Coalition Government

A government formed by two or more political parties working together to obtain a ruling majority.

Democracy

A government whose authority comes from the people; the term, based on two Greek words, translates literally as "power to the people"

Special-Interest Group

A group of people who support a particular issue and who can be mobilized for political action.

State

A political entity that claims monopoly on the use of violence in some particular territory; commonly known as a country.

Centrist Party

A political party that represents the center of political opinion.

Noncentrist Party

A political that represents less popular ideas.

Nationalism

A strong identification with a nation, accompanied by the desire for that nation to be dominant.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system in which seats in a legislature are divided according to the proportion of votes that each political party receives.

Ruling class

Another term for the power elite.

War

Armed conflict between nations or politically distinct groups.

Revolution

Armed resistance designed to overthrow and replace a government.

Charismatic Authority

Authority based on an individual's outstanding traits, which attract followers.

Traditional Authority

Authority based on custom.

Rational-legal Authority

Authority based on law or written rules and regulations; also called bureaucratic authority.

Power Elite

C. Wright Mills' term for the top people in U.S. corporations, military and politics who make the nation's major decisions.

Voter Apathy

Indifference and inaction on the part of individuals or groups with respect to the political process.

Lobbyists

People who influence legislation on behalf of their clients.

Authority

Power that people consider legitimate, as rightly exercised over them; also called legitimate power.

Coercion

Power that people do not accept as rightly exercised over them; also called illegitimate power.

Power

The ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others.

Dehumanization

The act or process of reducing people to objects that do not deserve the treatment accorded to humans.

Citizenship

The concept that birth (and residence or naturalization) in a country imparts basic rights.

Pluralism

The diffusion of power among many interest groups that prevents any single group from gaining control of the government.

Macropolitics

The exercise of large-scale power; the government being the most common example.

Politics

The exercise of power and attempts to maintain or change power relations.

Micropolitics

The exercise of power in everyday life, such as deciding who is going to do the housework or use the remote control.

Universal Citizenship

The idea that everyone has the same basic rights by virtue of being born in a country (or by immigrating and becoming a naturalized citizen)

Checks and Balances

The separation of powers and among the three branches of U.S. government so that each side is able to nullify the actions of the other two, thus preventing any single branch from dominating the government.

Routinization of Charisma

The transfer of authority from a charismatic figure to either a traditional or rational-legal form of authority.

Terrorism

The use of violence or the threat violence to produce fear in order to attain political objectives.