chapter 13

Question 1

social movements

Answer 1

large groups of people who seek to accomplish, or to block, a process of social change. social movements normally exist in conflict with organizations whose objectives and outlooks they oppose. however, movements that successfully challenge power, once they become institutionalized, can develop into organizations

Question 2

democracy

Answer 2

a political system that allows the citizens to participate in political decision making or elect representatives to government bodies, enabling them to directly or indirectly decide the laws under which they will live

Question 3

participatory democracy

Answer 3

a system of democracy in which all members of a group or community participate collectively in making major decisions

Question 4

representative democracy

Answer 4

a form of democracy in which citizens elect to governing bodies representatives who then vote on laws and policies

Question 5

liberal democracy

Answer 5

a type of representative democracy in which elected representatives hold power

Question 6

monarchy

Answer 6

a system of government in which an unelected king or queen rules

Question 7

constitutional monarchy

Answer 7

a system of government in which a king or queen is largely a figurehead and real power rests in the hands of other political leaders

Question 8

authoritarianism

Answer 8

a political system in which the governing bodies or leaders use force to maintain control

Question 9

populism

Answer 9

the belief that politics should reflect the needs and interests of ordinary people rather than those of elite individuals or groups

Question 10

civil society

Answer 10

the realm of activity that lies between the state and the market, including the family, schools, community associations, and noneconomic institutions. Civil society, or civic culture, is essential to vibrant democratic societies

Question 11

nation-states

Answer 11

particular types of states, characteristic of the modern world, in which governments have sovereign power within defined territorial areas, and populations are citizens who know themselves to be part of a single nations

Question 12

nation

Answer 12

people with a common identity that ideally includes shared culture, language, and feelings of belonging

Question 13

state

Answer 13

a politcal apparatus (government institutions plus civil service officials) ruling over a given territorial order, whose authority is backed by law and the ability to use force

Question 14

sovereignty

Answer 14

the undisputed political rule of a state over a given territorial area

Question 15

failed states

Answer 15

states in which the central government has lost authority and resorts to deadly force to retain power

Question 16

nationalism

Answer 16

a set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a national community

Question 17

local nationalism

Answer 17

the belief that communities that share a cultural identity should have political autonomy, even within smaller units of nation-states

Question 18

power

Answer 18

the ability to individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold. power is a pervasive element in all human relationships, many conflicts in society are struggles over power, because the amount of power an individual or group holds governs its ability to put its wishes into practice

Question 19

authority

Answer 19

A governments legitimate use of power

Question 20

influence

Answer 20

the ability to affect others behavior without coercion or other forms of direct control

Question 21

citizens

Answer 21

members of a political community, having both right and duties associated with that membership

Question 22

civil rights

Answer 22

legal rights held by all citizens in a given national community

Question 23

political rights

Answer 23

rights of political participation, such as the right to vote in local and national elections, held by citizens of a national community

Question 24

social rights

Answer 24

rights of social and welfare provision held by all citizens in a national community, including, for example, the right to claim unemployment benefits and sick payments provided by the states

Question 25

welfare state

Answer 25

a political system that provides a wide range of welfare benefits for its citizens

Question 26

revolutions

Answer 26

processes of political change involving the mobilizing of a mass social movement, which, by the use of violence, successfully overthrows an existing regime and forms a new government

Question 27

democratic elitism

Answer 27

a theory of the limits of democracy. it holds that in large-scale societies democratic participation is necessarily limited to the regular election of political leaders

Question 28

pluralist theories of modern democracy

Answer 28

theories that emphasize the tole of diverse and potentially competing interest groups, none of which dominate the political process.

Question 29

power elite

Answer 29

small networks of individuals who, according to C. Wright Mills, hold concentrated power in modern societies.

Question 30

interest group

Answer 30

a group organized to pursue specific interests in the same political arena, operating primarily by lobbying the members of legislative bodies

Question 31

lobbying

Answer 31

the act of persuading influential officials to vote in favor or cause or otherwise lend support to. the aims of an interest group

Question 32

labor unions

Answer 32

organizations that advance and protect the interests of workers with respect to working conditions, wages, and benefits

Question 33

structural strain

Answer 33

tension that produces conflicting interests within societies

Question 34

collective action

Answer 34

action undertaken in a relatively spontaneous way by a large number of people assembled together

Question 35

relative deprivation

Answer 35

deprivation one feels by comparing oneself with a group

Question 36

new social movements

Answer 36

a set of social movements that have arisen in western societies since the 1960s in response to the changing risks facing human societies. new social movements differ from earlier social movements in that they focus on a range of human rights as opposed to economic concerns, and thus draw support from across class lines

Question 37

nations without states

Answer 37

instances in which the members of a nation lack political sovereignty over the area they claim as their own

Question 38

legitimation crisis

Answer 38

the failure of a political order to be able to govern properly because it did not generate a sufficient level of commitment and involvement on part of its citizens