Political Government Assignment
Using your textbook, define the following terms – and provide a real-world example for each one
- I) Government// democracy // totalitarianism* // monarchy* // power // authority // traditional authority // rational-legal authority //political party // special interest group // political action committee PAC // SuperPAC* // lobbyist // (60)
Government: a formal organization that has the authority to make and enforce laws
Ex: A federal government administers the United States with a presidential system, and it is a liberal democracy type of government that has several branches that enable its operations, such as the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
Democracy: a political system in which, ideally, citizens have control over the state and its actions.
Ex: The United States uses a democratic type of system in its administration where citizens have been given the power and rights to control the actions of the government through voting and elections
Totalitarianism: the government controls almost every aspect of people’s lives.
Ex: Nazi Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, used totalitarianism kind of government.
Monarchy: power is allocated solely based on heredity and passes from generation to generation.
Ex: The United Kingdom has for long used the monarchial system of administration where hereditary power is passed down family members of the queen or royalty
Power: the ability of a person or a group to influence others, even if they resist.
Ex: The power of the government or president of a country to influence how the country is operated or interacts with others
Authority: the legitimate use of power
Ex: the authority of the government officials is given to them after conducting elections where they are voted in by the citizens
Traditional authority: power based on customs that justify the ruler’s position
Ex: queen Elizabeth of Britain occupies a position that the traditional authority of Great Britain demands that she does only by inheriting.
Rational-legal authority: this is any authority or leadership that is majorly controlled by legal rationality bureaucracy and legal legitimacy as contained in a published source of law in a country.
Ex: the US government is tied to the constitution and other formal documents of the government influence how decisions are made in a nation as they provide a rational decision-making process
Political party: an organization that tries to influence and control government by recruiting, nomination, and electing its members to public office
Ex: the democratic and republican political parties are the main political parties in America
Special-interest group: a group of people that seeks or receives benefits or special treatment.
Ex: the children, the elderly, the physically challenged, and the poor in society can be termed as special interest groups
Political action committee PAC: a special interest group that raises money to elect one or more candidates to public office
Ex: in the United States there are parties such as Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth PAC and The Congressional Leadership Fund PAC which help possible candidates assume office
SuperPAC: This is an independent type of PAC which is legally permitted to accept contributions from organizations and individuals and use its resources to support a political candidate, but it cannot be involved directly with the candidate
Ex: The American Bank Association PAC and the Bank of America Federal PAC
Lobbyist: someone hired by a special-interest group to influence legislation on the group’s behalf.
Ex: Animal Legal Defense Fund, Anti-Defamation League Fights, Anti-Semitism, and the American Civil Liberties Union
- II) Explain how the following sociological perspectives/approaches apply to government and politics
- Conflict theory and the “Power Elite” – be specific with your response *
Conflict theorists’ argue that the United States of America is not ruled by pluralism but by a power elite society (Soener & Michael 400). This means that the control of the government and those in authority is influenced by a few individuals that have power over the political systems or parties. Examples of the power elites are military chiefs, corporate leaders, and the political leaders who are Anglo Saxon men who form the inner circle that controls political systems in the country and influences the decisions made by the government.
- b) Functionalist and the Pluralist model *
In the pluralist model, the citizens have little control of the way the government operates, but they can influence the government through special interest groups unions or professional organizations (Blokland 8). This type of group influences the government on decisions that it makes on issues such as healthcare and education. As well, in this model, rationality in decisions made by the government is guaranteed since these groups provide checks and balances for the government (20)
III) What are the six (6) demographic characteristics of voters that are used to study who votes? Identify and briefly describe each (20)
- Sex: In every presidential election since 1996, women have voted at a higher rate than men. The most significant gender voting gap was among African Americans; black women voted at a higher rate than black men by almost nine percentage points (Darmofal et al. 103). The reason for these differences may reflect a higher turnout by women who believe that social service, abortion rights, and health care coverage are threatened.
- Age: Young people have a lower registration rate because they are more geographically mobile than older people and are less likely to register after a move more. Moreover (Darmofal et al. 104), there often feel and uninformed about politics, believe that elections are not relevant in their lives, and may also be preoccupied with significant life events such as going to college and finding jobs.
- Social class: Social class has a significant impact on voting behavior. At each successive level of educational attainment, the voting rate increase, and those with advanced education are more likely to vote.
People with higher incomes are more likely to be employed and to have assist assets and therefore are more likely to vote to protect or increase their resources.
- Race and ethnicity: African Americans voted at a higher rate than white, across all racial, ethnic groups — including both native-born and nationalized citizens, the higher the voter registration. The higher the voting rate.
- Education level: The education level is also a major factor that determines how people vote during political elections. Those citizens with a high level of education know the importance of democracy and the right to vote, which they use to elect the best leaders who will serve them right. Most of those who are illiterate don see the importance of voting, and that makes them not to participate.
- Religion: Religion is a factor to consider during elections as most people vote for candidates who relate to their religious beliefs and practices. If a leader has plans to encourage the practice of Islam, then automatically, he or she attracts the votes of Muslims and vice versa.
- In 2012 blacks and whites had a higher voter registration rate.
- The increase in black voting, primarily since 2008, stems from an enthusiasm for same Barack Obama‘s presidential candidacy, higher levels of voter mobilization, and decline of the white population. In contrast to blacks, Latinos and Asian American Who are eligible to vote do not do so, about 75% of both groups were born in the United States but had lower voter registration rate them black and white.
* You may use Internet source material for these questions – you don`t HAVE to if you don`t need it, but if you do it is your responsibility to make sure the info you are using is correct/answers the question
** The answers for this entire are in your textbook exceptions being the actual examples you need to provide
Works cited
Blokland, Hans. Pluralism, democracy, and political knowledge: Robert A. Dahl and his critics on modern politics. Routledge, 2016.
Darmofal, David, and Ryan Strickler. “Modeling the Political Geography of Presidential Voting.” Demography, Politics, and Partisan Polarization in the United States, 1828–2016. Springer, Cham, 2019. 101-121.
Soener, Matthew, and Michael Nau. “Citadels of privilege: the rise of LLCs, LPs, and the perpetuation of elite power in America.” Economy and Society 48.3 (2019): 399-425.
