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Glossary of Terms
*administration* The organized apparatus of the state for the
preparation and implementation of legislation and policies, also called
bureaucracy.
*agenda-setting* Controlling the focus of attention by establishing the
issues for public discussion.
*anarchic order* Order resulting from mutual coordination in the absence
of a higher authority.
*anarchism* A stateless society that allows total individual freedom.
*anomic group* Spontaneously formed interest group with concern over a
specific issue.
*aristocracy* A form of government in which a minority rules under the law.
*associational group* Formally organized group which articulates the
interests of its members over long periods of time.
*asymmetrical federalism* A federal system of government in which powers
are unevenly divided between provinces, i.e. some provinces have greater
responsibilities or more autonomy than others.
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*auction politics* A danger in democratic politics in which state power
may be "sold" to the highest bidding groups.
*auditor general* The official of Parliament whose staff audit the
expenditures of government departments and who provides an annual report
on instances of funds being unlawfully or unwisely spent.
*authoritarianism* A system of government in which leaders are not
subjected to the test of free elections.
*authority* A form of power based on consensus regarding the right to
issue commands and make decisions.
*backbencher* Members of Parliament on the government side who sit on
the backbenches and are not in cabinet, or those similarly distant from
shadow cabinet posts in opposition parties.
*balance of payments* A state's running account of economic transactions
(exports and imports) with the rest of the world.
*balance of power policy* The active prevention of any one state
becoming too strong by the major powers in the system.
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*balance of power* The distribution of power in a system such that no
one state may overwhelm others.
*behavioural revolution* The introduction of more empirical analysis
into the study of government and politics.
*bicameralism* A system of government in which the legislature is
divided into two chambers, an upper and lower house.
*bill* A piece of legislation under consideration by a legislative body.
*binational state* Two nations co-existing within one state.
*bipolar* An international system in which there are two dominant
nation-states. bourgeoisie. A Marxist term referring to those who own
the means of production.
*bureaucracy* A type of administration characterized by specialization,
professionalism, and security of tenure.
*cabinet solidarity* A convention that all cabinet ministers publicly
support whatever decisions the cabinet has taken, regardless of their
personal views.
*caucus* A meeting of legislators of any one party to discuss
parliamentary strategy and party policy.
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*central agency*. Government agencies such as the PMO, the PCO, the
Treasury Board, and the Finance Department that have certain
coordinating functions across the whole federal public service.
*charismatic authority* Authority based on the admiration of personal
qualities of an individual.
*checks and balances* A system of government in which power is divided
between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government,
and these powers check and balance each other.
*citizenship* Legal membership in a community known as a nation-state.
*classical liberalism* A liberal ideology entailing a minimal role for
government in order to maximize individual freedom.
*coalition government* A parliamentary government in which the cabinet
is composed of members of more than one party.
*coalition* An alliance between two or more political units in response
to opposing forces.
*code civil* The unique system of civil law used in Quebec.
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*code of law* A comprehensive set of interrelated legal rules.
*coercion* A form of power based on forced compliance through fear and
intimidation.
*collective (public) goods* Goods and services enjoyed in common and not
divisible among individuals.
*collective defence* An alliance among states against external threats.
*collective security* A commitment by a number of states to join in an
alliance against member states that threaten peace.
*Cominform* "Communist Information Bureau"; an international communist
organization after World War II.
*Comintern *"Communist International"; also known as the Third
International, the communist international organization between the two
World Wars.
*common law* The accumulation of judicial precedents as the basis for
court decisions.
*communications (mass) media* A general term for all modern means of
conveying information.
*communism* A political ideology characterized by a belief in
eliminating exploitation through public ownership and central planning
of the economy.
*comparative politics* An area of political study concerned with the
relative similarities and differences of political systems.
*confederation* A federal system of government in which sovereign
constituent governments create a central government but balance of power
remains with constituent governments.
*confidence* Support for the government by the majority of the members
of parliament.
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*consent of the governed* People's acceptance of the form of government
under which they live.
*conservationism* The attempt to manage natural resources in order to
maximize benefits over a long period of time.
*conservatism* A political ideology generally characterized by a belief
in individualism and minimal government intervention in the economy and
society; also a belief in the virtue of the status quo and general
acceptance of traditional morality.
*consociationalism* A form of democracy in which harmony in segmented
societies is maintained through the distinctive roles of elites and the
autonomy of organized interests.
*constituency* A electoral district with a body of electors who vote for
a representative in an elected assembly.
*constitution* The fundamental rules and principles by which a state is
organized.
*constitutionalism* The belief that governments will defer to the rules
and principles enshrined in a constitution and uphold the rule of law.
*constructive vote of confidence* A system in which the majority in the
lower house can bring down the government, but not until that majority
approves another government (e.g. in Germany).
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*contracting out* The hiring of private organizations to provide public
services.
*convention* A practice or custom followed in government although not
explicitly written in the constitution or in legislation.
*corporatism* The organization of liberal democracies in such a way that
the state is the dominant force in society and the activities of all
interests in society are subordinate to that force.
*coup d?état* A forceful and unconstitutional change of government,
often by a faction within the military or the ruling party.
*credit* Any transaction which brings money into the country (e.g.
payments for the export of goods).
*Crown corporation* Corporations owned by the government that assume a
structure similar to a private company and that operate
semi-independently of the cabinet.
*current accounts surplus* A state selling more to the world than it is
buying.
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*custom* A generally accepted practice or behaviour developed over time.
*customary law* Rules of conduct developed over time and enforceable in
court.
*debit* Any transaction which sends money out of the country (e.g.
payments for the import of goods).
*deep ecology* A form of environmentalism holding that nature and the
natural order should be valued over individual human happiness.
*deficit* Occurs when the value of a state's imports is more than the
value of its exports.
*delegate* A representative role in which the individual subordinates
his/her views to those of their constituents.
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*democratic centralism* The concentration of power in the leadership of
the communist party, which in theory acts in the interests of the people.
*department of finance* The government department that has overall
responsibility for the government's finances and its role in the economy.
*deputy minister* The Canadian public servant who heads each government
department, manages the department, and advises the minister.
*deregulation* A government policy designed to remove regulations on
market activity.
*devolution* A system of government in which the sovereign central
government devolves (delegates) power to regional governments.
*despotism* An individual ruling through fear without regard to law and
not answerable to the people.
*dictator* In Roman Law, an appointed individual given exceptional
powers in times of crisis.
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*dictatorship of the proletariat* A revolutionary seizure of power by
the "vanguard" of society, the communist party, which then rules in the
name of the working class.
*diplomacy* A system of formal, regularized communication that allows
states to peacefully conduct their business with each other.
*direct democracy* A system of government based on public decisions made
by citizens meeting in an assembly or voting by ballot.
*disallowance* A power given to the federal government in the
Constitution Act, 1867, under which the cabinet can nullify any
provincial law, even though it has received royal assent from the
lieutenant-governor of the province.
*discretion* The flexibility afforded government to decide something
within the broader framework of rules.
*distributive laws* Laws designed to distribute public goods and
services to individuals in society.
*downsizing* Reduction of the size and scope of government.
*doxa* Greek word for an opinion that may be at least partly true but
cannot be fully expounded.
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*Electoral College* The body which formally chooses the president of the
United States.
*elite* A small group of people with a disproportionate amount of public
decision-making power.
*empirical* Political analysis based on factual and observable data in
contrast to thoughts or ideas.
*episteme* Greek word for knowledge that can be demonstrated by logical
argument from first principles.
*equality of opportunity* The equalization of life chances for all
individuals in society, regardless of economic position.
*equality of result* The equalization of outcomes of social and economic
processes.
*equality of right* Application of the law in the same way to all.
*equality rights* A section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (s.
15) that prohibits governments from discriminating against certain
categories of people.
*ethnic group* A group whose common identity is based on racial,
national, or religious association.
*executive* A small group of elected officials who direct the policy
process, and oversee the vast array of departments and agencies of
government.
*executive federalism* A federal process directed by extensive
federal-provincial interaction at the level of first ministers,
departmental ministers, and deputy ministers.
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