Chapter 1 Key Concepts: The Study of American Government
Democracy – Government by the people, both directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections.
Legitimacy – Political authority conferred by law or constitution.
Direct democracy – Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.
• Initiative: voters can propose a law/constitutional amendment and have it voted on by citizens
• Referendum: voters decide whether to accept law enacted by legislature
• Recall: voters decide whether to remove someone from office before term is up
Representative (or “indirect”) democracy – Government in which the people elect those who govern and
pass laws; also called a republican democracy.
Constitutional democracy – A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and
allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections.
Constitutionalism – The set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of
powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, that requires our leaders to listen, think, bargain, and
explain before they act or make laws. We then hold them politically and legally accountable for how they
exercise their powers.
Communism/statism – The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals
who make up the nation.
Monarchies — Rule by one person (a king or queen); usually hereditary passage of authority; typically
rule for life. May be ceremonial (like England) or ruling (like Saudi Arabia).
Dictatorships — Also rule by one person; typically come to power by forceful overthrow of predecessor.
Popular consent – The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it
governs.
Plurality – Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.
Theocracy – Government by religious leaders, who claim divine guidance.
Thomas Hobbes — wrote The Leviathan; believed people in state of nature are at war with each other; we
need a strong ruler to help us avoid a war of all against all.
John Locke – wrote Second Treatise on Government; people are free in the state of nature but the freedom
leads to inequality; people enter in a social contract to protect their natural rights of life, liberty, and
property; gov’t exists with the consent of the governed and managed by majority rule; we have a right to
rebel.
John Jacques Rousseau — Wrote “The Social Contract.” We must agree on what’s good for the whole
and insist and all comply.
Majoritarian politics — the will of the majority prevails.
Consent of the governed — the basis for our democracy.
Tyranny of the majority — when the will of the majority tramples on individual rights. Note several
protections in the Constitution against tyranny of the majority, including —
• no suspension of habeas corpus (i.e., the right to go before a judge to hear why you’re detained and
then released if there is no just cause to hold you);
• a prohibition against ex post facto laws (i.e., laws that make conduct unlawful after it occurs);
• a prohibition against bills of attainder (i.e., a law that criminalizes conduct and identifies a person
who is guilty);
• the Bill of Rights;
• the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment
Theories for how a state emerges —
• Evolutionary: Extended family grew in size; elders became the governing body.
• Force: Power taken by the stronger actor.
• Divine right: Leaders chosen by God to rule.
• Social contract: People agree to cede control to a gov’t in return for the gov’t meeting protecting
life, liberty, and property.
Elites – people who have a disproportionate share of some valued resource, like money or power. There
are several views of who is considered part of the elites:
• Class view – government is dominated by capitalists.
• Power elite view – government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside
government.
• Bureaucratic view – government is dominated by appointed officials
• Pluralist view – competition among all affected interests shapes public policy
• Creedal passion view — elites acting not out of self-interest but for a larger cause
Linkage institutions – institutions that link the voters to policy; they include parties, the media, elections,
and interest groups
Political agenda — items being considered for action by policymakers
Shapers of political agenda — include government institutions, media, states
Politics — the process of deciding what our government should do and who should pay for it
Pillars of democratic theory –
• Equality in voting; one person, one vote
• Effective participation; citizens need to be able to express preferences
• Enlightened understanding; need a marketplace of ideas
• Citizen control of the agenda
• Inclusion; gov’t must include, and extend rights to, all who are subject to its laws