| A | B |
|---|
| Authority | the legal right and power to give orders and enforce rules |
| Government | Organization of authority figure necessary to organize and carry out public policy. |
| Power | the possibility of imposing one’s will upon the behavior of other persons. |
| Legitimacy | the quality of being accepted as an authority, often applied to laws of those in power |
| Mandate of Heaven | An ancient Chinese doctrine that the ruler was the "son of heaven" and thus enjoyed supreme authority. |
| Divine Right of Kings | the idea that European monarchs had a God-given right to rule and thus deserved absolute power |
| Social Contract Theory | the idea that the legitimacy of a government stems from an unwritten contract between the ruler and the ruled; a ruler who breaks this contract by abusing people’s rights loses legitimacy and may be overthrown |
| Nation-States | an independent country, especially one in which the people share a common culture |
| Sovereignty | the right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, a group of people, or oneself |
| Politics | the process and method of making decisions for groups, generally applied to governments though also seen in other human interactions |
| Institutions | an established organization, especially one providing a public service, and the rules that guide it |
| Machiavellian | characterized by cunning or ruthless methods to obtain and maintain power; “the end justifies the means” |
| Civil Disobedience | deliberately disobeying what is considered an unjust law in hopes of changing it. |
