Political Science & Civics: Vocabulary
Basic terms:
- Citizen – a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection; an inhabitant of a city or town, especially one entitled to its privileges or franchises.
- Citizenship – the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen; the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen.
- Civics – the study or science of the privileges and obligations of citizens.
- Political science – a social science dealing with political institutions and with the principles and conduct of government.
- Responsibility – the state or fact of being responsible, answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management; an instance of being responsible.
- Right – a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or moral; that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.; adherence or obedience to moral and legal principles and authority; that which is morally, legally, or ethically proper; a moral, ethical, or legal principle considered as an underlying cause of truth, justice, morality, or ethics.
- Role – the rights, obligations, and expected behavior patterns associated with a particular social status.
- Authority – the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine; a power or right delegated or given; authorization.
- Autocracy – government in which one person has uncontrolled or unlimited authority over others; the government or power of an absolute monarch.
- Constitution – the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed; the document embodying these principles.
- Courts – a place where justice is administered; a judicial tribunal duly constituted for the hearing and determination of cases; a session of a judicial assembly.
- Democracy – government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system; a state having such a form of government.
- Government – the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration.
- Ideology – the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group; such a body of doctrine, myth, etc., with reference to some political and social plan, as that of fascism, along with the devices for putting it into operation.
- Implicit power – implied or understood though not directly expressed; contained in the nature of something though not readily apparent; indirect power. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/implicit)
- Incentive – something that incites or tends to incite to action or greater effort, as a reward offered for increased productivity.
- Interest groups – a group of people drawn or acting together in support of a common interest or to voice a common concern.
- Justice – the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness; to uphold the justice of a cause; rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason.
- Law – the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision; any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation, as by the people in its constitution.
- Legal system – systems of civil law, common law and religious law. Each country often develops variations on each system and incorporates many other features into the system. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Legal_systems)
- Manifest power – an act of manifesting; the state of being manifested; outward or perceptible indication; materialization; direct power.
- Nation – a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own; the territory or country itself.
- Oligarchy – a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.
- Power – ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something; political or national strength; great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force.
- Sovereignty – the quality or state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority; the status, dominion, power, or authority of a sovereign; royal rank or position; royalty; supreme and independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state or community.
- State – the condition of a person, thing, etc, with regard to main attributes; the structure, form, or constitution of something; any mode of existence.
- Alien – a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization (distinguished from citizen); a foreigner; a person who has been estranged or excluded.
- Amendments – the act of amending or the state of being amended; an alteration of or addition to a motion, bill, constitution, etc; a change made by correction, addition, or deletion.
- Appeal – an earnest request for aid, support, sympathy, mercy, etc.; entreaty; petition; plea; a request or reference to some person or authority for a decision, corroboration, judgment, etc.
- Article – a written composition in prose, usually nonfiction, on a specific topic, forming an independent part of a book or other publication, as a newspaper or magazine.
- Articles of Confederation – the first constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781 and replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States.
- Ballot – a slip or sheet of paper, cardboard, or the like, on which a voter marks his or her vote; the method of secret voting by means of printed or written ballots or by means of voting machines; voting in general, or a round of voting.
- Bill of Rights – a formal statement of the fundamental rights of the people of the United States, incorporated in the Constitution as Amendments 1–10, and in all state constitutions.
- Boycott – to combine in abstaining from, or preventing dealings with, as a means of intimidation or coercion.
- Cabinet – a council advising a president, sovereign, etc., especially the group of ministers or executives responsible for the government of a nation; an advisory body to the president, consisting of the heads of the 13 executive departments of the federal government.
- Campaign – the competition by rival political candidates and organizations for public office; a series of coordinated activities, such as public speaking and demonstrating, designed to achieve a social, political, or commercial goal.
- Candidate – a person who seeks an office, honor, etc.; a person who is selected by others as a contestant for an office, honor, etc.
- Checks and balances – limits imposed on all branches of a government by vesting in each branch the right to amend or void those acts of another that fall within its purview.
- Civil law – the body of laws of a state or nation regulating ordinary private matters, as distinct from laws regulating criminal, political, or military matters.
- Civil liberties – the freedom of a citizen to exercise customary rights, as of speech or assembly, without unwarranted or arbitrary interference by the government; such a right as guaranteed by the laws of a country, as in the U.S. by the Bill of Rights.
- Constitution – the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed; the document embodying these principles.
- Constitutional law – the body of law that evolves from a constitution, setting out the fundamental principles according to which a state is governed and defining the relationship between the various branches of government within the state.
- Delegate – a person designated to act for or represent another or others; deputy; representative, as in a political convention.
- Executive order – an order having the force of law issued by the president of the U.S. to the army, navy, or other part of the executive branch of the government.
- Federalist Papers – a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (under the pseudonym Publius) promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Federalist_Papers)
- Federalists – a member or supporter of the Federalist Party.
- Foreign policy – a policy pursued by a nation in its dealings with other nations, designed to achieve national objectives.
- Free speech – the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.
- Global interdependence – World-wide, mutual dependence, perceived as each country depending on, and depended on other countries, comes from the importing and exporting of goods and services. (http://thelawdictionary.org/global-interdependence/)
- House of Representatives – the lower legislative branch in many national and state bicameral governing bodies, as in the United States, Mexico, and Japan.
- Human rights – fundamental rights, especially those believed to belong to an individual and in whose exercise a government may not interfere, as the rights to speak, associate, work, etc.
- Immigrant – a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.
- Implied powers – those powers authorized by a document (from the Constitution) that, while not stated, seem to be implied by powers expressly stated. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implied_powers)
- Jurisdiction – the right, power, or authority to administer justice by hearing and determining controversies; power; authority; control.
- Legislature – a deliberative body of persons, usually elective, who are empowered to make, change, or repeal the laws of a country or state; the branch of government having the power to make laws, as distinguished from the executive and judicial branches of government.
- Liberty – freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control; freedom from external or foreign rule; independence; freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.
- Natural rights – any right that exists by virtue of natural law.
- Petition – a formally drawn request, often bearing the names of a number of those making the request that is addressed to a person or group of persons in authority or power, soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit.
- Political party – a group of voters organized to support certain public policies. The aim of a political party is to elect officials who will try to carry out the party's policies. (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/political-parties)
- Preamble – the introductory statement of the U.S. Constitution, setting forth the general principles of American government and beginning with the words, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union. …”.
- Precedent – a legal decision or form of proceeding serving as an authoritative rule or pattern in future similar or analogous cases; any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.
- Proclamation – something that is proclaimed; a public and official announcement; the act of proclaiming.
- Ratify – to confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction; to confirm (something done or arranged by an agent or by representatives) by such action.
- Senate – an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation; (initial capital letter) the upper house of the legislature of certain countries, as the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, Republic of South Africa, Australia, and some Latin American countries.
- Separation of powers - the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.
- Terrorism – the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes; the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization; a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.
- Treaty – a formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace, alliance, commerce, or other international relations; the formal document embodying such an international agreement; any agreement or compact.
All definitions found from www.dictionary.com unless stated otherwise.