Chapter 20 Politics and Political Institutions

1. Chapter 20Politics and Political Institutions Key Terms

2. power The ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will. • authority Power whose exercise is governed by the norms and statuses of organizations.

3. political institution A set of norms and statuses pertaining to the exercise of power and authority. • stateThe set of political institutions operating in a particular society.

4. legitimacy The ability of a society to engender and maintain the belief that the existing political institutions are the most appropriate for that society. • traditional authorityAuthority that is hereditary and is legitimated by traditional values, particularly people’s idea of the sacred.

5. charismatic authority Authority that comes to an individual through a personal calling, often claimed to be inspired by supernatural powers, and is legitimated by people’s belief that the leader does indeed have God-given powers.

6. legal authorityAuthority that is legitimated by people’s belief in the supremacy of the law; obedience is owed not to a person but to a set of impersonal principles.

7. NationalismThe belief of a people that they have the right and the duty to constitute themselves as a nation-state. • nation-state The largest territory within which a society’s political institutions can operate without having to face challenges to their sovereignty.

8. CitizenshipThe status of membership in a nation-state. • demagogue A leader who uses personal charisma and political symbols to manipulate public opinion.

9. political party An organization of people who join together to gain legitimate control of state authority. • oligarchy Rule by a few people who stay in office indefinitely rather than for limited terms.

10. totalitarian regime A regime that accepts no limits to its power and seeks to exert its rule at all levels of society. • democracy A political system in which all citizens have the right to participate in public decision making.

11. power elite model A theory stating that political decisions are controlled by an elite group of rich and powerful individuals even in societies with democratic political institutions. • pluralist model A theory stating that no single group controls political decisions; instead, a plurality of interest groups influences those decisions through a process of coalition building and bargaining.

12. interest group An organization that attempts to influence elected and appointed officials regarding a secific issue or set of issues. • lobbying The process whereby interest groups seek to persuade legislators to vote in their favor on particular bills.