| A | B |
|---|
| government | institution through which a society 1) makes public policy and 2)enforces its public policies |
| public policies | all things that a government decides to do |
| state | a body of people-that is, under a government-and having the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority |
| sovereign | supreme and absolute power within its own territory |
| unitary government | a centralized government, a single unit or agency |
| confederation | an alliance of independent states |
| presidential government | features a separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of the government |
| parliamentary government | the executive is mand up of the prime minister or premier and that official's cabinet |
| dictatorship | those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people |
| democracy | supreme political authority rests with the people |
| direct democracy | the will of the people is translated into public policy directly by the people themselves, in mass meetings |
| representative democrarcy | a small group of persons chosen by the people to act as their representatives expresses the popular will |
| compromise | the process of blending and adjusting, of reconciling competing views and interests-in order to find the position most acceptable to the largest number |
| anarchy | total absence of government |
| politics | methods or tactics involved in managing government and gaining power |
| divine right | the belief that rulers derive their authority directly from God and are accountable only to Him |
| social contract | the concept that the governed and those governing have obligations to each other, that the people being governed will support the government and that the government will protect the basic rights of the people. |
| evolutionary theory | says that government is an extension of family relationships |
| force theory | claims that governemnts wre formed as a result of one group's conquest of another. |
| elite | a small and privileged group who have a disproportionate share of money or political influence. |
| federal government | a form of government in which governmental powers are divided between a central authority and a number of regional political subdivisions. |
| Monarchy | government in which the ruler's power is heraditary |
