| A | B |
|---|
| Government | Institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies |
| Public Policy | All of the many goals that a government pursues in all of the many areas of human affairs in which it is involved |
| Legislative Power | The power to make the law and to frame policies |
| Executive Power | The power to execute, enforce and administer law |
| Judicial Power | The power to interpret laws, determine their meaning, and to settle disputes that arise within society |
| Constitution | The body of fundamental laws setting out principles, structures, and processes of a government |
| Dictatorship | A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority |
| Democracy | A form of government in which the supreme power rests with the people |
| State | A body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically, and has power to make and enforce their own laws without consent of higher authority |
| Sovereign | When a state has supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide on its own foreign and domestic policies |
| Autocracy | A government in which a single person holds unlimited political power |
| Oligarchy | A government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite |
| Unitary Government | All powers held by this government belong to a single, central agency |
| Federal Government | The powers of this government are divided between a central government and several local governments |
| Division of Powers | The idea that government is divided between nation and state governments |
| Confederation | An alliance of independent states |
| Presidential Government | Features a separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government |
| Parliamentary Government | Form of government is made up of the prime minister, or premier, and that official's cabinet |
| Compromise | The process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests |
| Free Enterprise System | Economic system characterized by the private ownership of capital goods, investments made by the private decision, and success or failure determined by competition in the marketplace |
| Law of Supply and Demand | When supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop; supplies are scarce, prices tend to rise |
| Mixed Economy | An economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion |
