PSC Exam 4

The American Party System

2 main parties (because of electoral rules) with other smaller and less powerful third parties (spoiler, splinter, extremist)

iron triangles (subgovernments)

A network of groups within the American political system that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas. They are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administering that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy.

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.

Opponents have voiced numerous objections for expanding the franchise, but what has not happened as a result of reducing barriers to voting?

Incumbent officeholders failing to get re-elected at high rates

Duverger's Law

Law of politics, formalized by Maurice Duverger, stating that plurality-rule electoral systems will tend to have two political parties

insider strategies

Lobbying tactics that utilize contacts or access to legislators in order to influence voting on legislation. Often viewed negatively but (in theory) it contributes to the representation of different groups in society

heuristics

Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always).

"Third" Parties

Minor parties that run a slate of their own candidates in opposition to major-party organizations in an election.

What are the consequences of Duverger's Law for political candidates?

Office seekers usually join one of the two competitive parties rather than pursuing office as independents or third-party nominees.

Interest groups

Organized interests group of citizens with shared interests The organized part comes from having a staff and a budget

PIG

Parties-in-government

Lobbing / Information

Policymakers have access to lots of information but they need to know what to prioritize ~lobbyist can provide lots of different information ~ "policy" (what book calls technical) information: what will happen if this policy passes? ~ "political": what other groups and policymakers support or oppose a policy

Student Loans

Provide students with money but temporarily, not rest of their lives Eligible recipients have to initiate contact with government money is paid back with interest administered by private companies; not dealing directly with government

Which of the following is a standard collective action problem that must be overcome for an interest group to promote or defend a shared interest?

Rational self-interest leads to universal free riding, which dooms the organization as well as the effort unless some way can be found around this difficulty.

Policy characteristics that influence "feedback"

Size of benefits ~ are the benefits large enough to be worth fighting to keep? Duration of benefits ~short vs. long term How visible is the program? ~is it clear that you're receiving a government benefit?

Why does modern politics breed professional lobbyists?

The growing scope and complexity of government requires agents who understand how institutions work.

Policies (the output of government)

give different groups benefits or burdens create or limit sense of shared group interest influence who participates in politics and how

What happens when you give senior citizens social security?

gives them money and time to get involved in politics gives them a shared group interest based on receiving these benefits

Blocking action

government action, or the prospect of government action, attracts more lobbying activity

The post WWII rise in interest groups resulted from what?

government policies / programs such as New Deal, Great Society Social movements that succeeded in getting new policies in place ~civil rights movement, environmental movement

The idea that "policy makes politics"

government policies themselves influence participation, similar dynamics in the future

Target Population

groups who are affected by policy

What is the term used to describe elaborately organized sets of political attitudes?

ideologies

Cuts both ways

interest groups can help block stuff you might like, but also stuff you don't

Lobbying/access

it doesn't do the group any good if no one will meet with you or listen to what you have to say

What ideological label do we use to describe those who distrust government, have greater faith in private enterprise and free markets, and are more willing to use government to enforce traditional moral standards?

liberals

general ideal of ideology

line that goes from liberal (left side) to conservative (right side) ~line represents beliefs in whether government should have larger / stronger role in society and the economy

the pluralist counter argument

no one group dominates across all of American government

Party labels ______.

offer a serviceable shorthand cue that keeps voting decisions cheap and simple for the voters

Every expansion of suffrage since the adoption of the Constitution has had to do which of the following?

overcome both philosophical objections and mundane calculations of political advantage

PIE

parties-in-election

PO

party organization

Social Security

provides direct monetary benefits to eligible seniors

Elections allow ordinary citizens to, in aggregate, ______.

reward or punish elected officials for their performance in office

comprehensive rationality

set of assumptions made about how people make decisions and process information

subsystems

smaller systems that operate within the context of a larger system

Theory of Collective Action

states that it is harder to organize larger groups than smaller ones because less accountability exists in larger groups and individuals in larger groups may find it easier to slack off and not do their part.

Counter-mobilization

the backlash of rights claims and legal mobilization, those who view mobilization as an effort to gain special rights, opposers respond with counter claims ~interest groups that form to advocate their interest, oppose other groups

reasoning by analogy

when you compare two similar cases in order to argue that what is true in one case is also true in the other ~EX: if Solution X worked there, and this situation is similar than Solution X will work

Most scholars who study public opinion believe that expressed opinions ______.

generally reflect underlying attitudes

What are two broad categories of how interest groups advocate for their members?

"outsider" and "insider" strategies

Functions of parties in government (PIG)

Creating government majorities (if in proportional representation / parliamentary system) Organizing the government (and specifically the legislature) implementing the parties objectives through law / oversight organizing dissent (minority parties) contributing to stability in parties

New Deal Era (1933-1952)

Great Depression created many problems in society that federal government could solve, Created institutions to regulate many aspects of American business, Established programs to put people to work building infrastructure, Social Security Act

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms ~ mental shortcut Using heuristics (party ID) is more efficient and reaches roughly the same decision

The "party in government" refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is ______.

an alliance of current officeholders cooperating to shape public policy

expressed attitudes

answers we give when asked we don't walk around expressing every possible issue

ideologies

are organized sets of attitudes (promotes consistency in attitudes)

How did James Madison propose to deal with factions?

by dividing authority among federal institutions

1950 APSA report

called for a turn to a more responsible 2 party system; argued that the problem was that the parties were too alike so it called for clear ideological lines; result=increased polarization

Functions of parties in the elections PIE

educating parties on who the candidates are and the parties goal / platform generating symbolic loyalty, sense of "teamsmanship" ~EX: "vote blue, no matter who" Simplifying choices for voters mobilizing the public to participate and ways beyond voting ~EX: volunteering, phone banks, etc

outsider strategies

educating the public, campaigning and contributing to candidates

Pluralism vs. Elite

the critique: even when elites "lose", they still wield influence over what issues get talked about / how they're talked about the elite critique tends to be more true within issues, not across issues Interest groups play a role on both sides: elite control but also pluralist process

policy feedback

the idea that policies, once enacted, open up and close off future policy options, especially because of the effects of policy on politics and political actors

The system in the 1930s and 1940s

the party system was fragmented, especially vertically ~ a parties national platform and the kinds of candidates it nominated often different from state parties ~ more or less separate entities, no real coordination among levels of government

political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

median voter

the voter who is theoretically exactly in the middle of the distribution of voters

why we don't have many third parties

they become tied to one person's ambitions and personality

Functions of the party organization

~identifying and recruiting candidates ~training candidates and recruiting staff Aggregating the interests of party coalition members (developing those "mutually acceptable policies" Articulating the parties collective interests ~communicating what the party believes to the party members and public

comprehensive rationality assumes:

~we know every possible solution to every aspect of the problem we're trying to solve ~we can rank those solutions in order of what we like best to least ~we then choose the option that maximizes our preferences and goals