Political Systems - Vocabulary (Pre-AP)
Forms of Government:
1. Centralized Government - A form of government where power is concentrated or consolidated in one area (ex: kings, dictators, emperors)
2. Decentralized Government - A form of government where power is delegated or distributed from the top (ex: Feudalism)
3. Democracy – A form of government where the people have the power
4. Republic – A form of democracy where people elect or vote for representatives to make decisions; (Formed in Ancient Rome)
5. Direct democracy - Form of democracy where citizens had direct say in the making of decisions (Athens, Greece)
6. Monarchy - Government headed by a king or queen.
7. Limited/Constitutional Monarchy – Form of government where the king or queen shares power with a legislative branch or a government where the monarch’s power is limited by a constitution.
8. Absolutism (absolute monarchy) - Government where the king or a queen has total or absolute power/control
9. Divine right theory – European theory that a monarch’s power to rule comes from God
10. Totalitarian - Government that has total control over all aspects of the lives of the people. (Ex: Soviet Union, Sparta)
11. Autocracy - Government ruled by one person with unlimited authority.
12. Theocracy - Government run by religious leaders or religions ideals (Ex: Iran)
13. Fascism - Government based on extreme nationalism and an all-powerful state. (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy)
14. Dictatorship – A country led by a person given temporary, absolute authority.
15. Communism - Political system where a dictator sets up a totalitarian state and controls all aspects of life, especially the economy; (Ex: The Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Cuba)
16. Dynasty – A succession of rulers of a country that come from the same family
17. Mandate of Heaven – Chinese theory that the right to rule comes from Heaven/God.
18. Dynastic Cycle – The political cycle in China that explains the rise and fall of dynasties
19. Feudalism – A decentralized political, system where land was exchanged for loyalty and protection. (land=wealth=power)
Political Ideologies:
20. Radical - One who works for political change quickly and often violently (Extremists)
21. Liberal – A person who promotes political and social progress through an active government
22. Conservative – A person who resists political or social change through the government
Citizenship:
23. Citizenship – Membership in a political community that carries rights to political participation (i.e. voting)
24. Suffrage - Movement to gain equal voting rights (ex: Women Suffrage, Black male Suffrage)
25. Patrician – Citizen of Ancient Rome who was wealthy and was granted full political rights.
26. Plebeian - citizen of Ancient Rome who was not an aristocrat and were not granted full political rights.
Political Titles:
27. Czar - Emperor of Russia; derives from the word (Caesar); Tsar
28. Monarch – A king or queen
29. Dictator – A person given “temporary” absolute power of a country or nation (Hitler, Stalin)
30. Emperor - Political ruler of an empire. Similar to a king
Political Units:
31. City-state - small, independent political unit that built around a larger area; (Sparta or Athens in Greece)
32. Nation-state - An independent state or country. (Ex: England, France, China)
33. Empire - A group of states or territories that were conquered and controlled by one ruler (Rome)
34. Colony – An area under the control of a colonial power; Provides raw materials and serves as an exclusive market for the mother country
35. Sovereign - A nation or group that has the power to make independent decisions (free nation)
Laws:
36. Anarchy – The absence of political authority; (chaos)
37. Laws - Rules for people in a society to follow (to keep order)
38. Codified laws - laws that have been written down or recorded
39. Hammurabi’s Code – A strict and harsh codified law system of Babylon that enforced specific punishments for specific crimes; “Eye for an eye”
40. Legalism – Strict set of laws in China during the Qin dynasty; These laws often used corporal punishment (executions, severing of appendages) towards scholars and nobles
41. Twelve Tables – Laws that guaranteed the rights of the Roman citizens; SERVES AS THE BASIS FOR MODERN LAW SYSTEMS (Western Civilizations)
42. Justinian Code - A set of civil laws that provided order in the Byzantine Empire
43. Magna Carta - A document signed by King John in 1215, granting rights to both the Church and the Nobility in England and is considered to be the first step towards a British democracy as it limited the power of the Monarch
44. English Bill of Rights - A Bill of Rights that created a limited monarchy and established Parliament as the ruling body of England.
Branches of Government:
45. Executive – Branch of government that enforces the laws
46. Legislative – Branch of government that creates or makes the laws
47. Judicial – Branch of government that interprets the laws (makes judgments)
Government Principles:
48. Veto – The act of overriding a bill or a law.
49. Separation of power – Theory that no one branch of the government has all the power; (checks and balances)
50. Habeas corpus - legal principle that requires authorities to show reasons why a person should be held in custody (Jail); provides a person the right to a speedy trial.