AP Government Chapter 1

The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election is

A term used to describe three different political systems in which the people are said to rule, directly or indirectly

Much of American political history has been a struggle over what constitutes legitimate authority.

Which of the following is true of a Theocracy?

The theory that appointed officials, not those elected to office, make the key governing decisions

It is easy to discern political power at work. 

If you fear people often decide issues based on fleeting passions and in response to demagogues, you likely agree with

The philosopher who defined democracy as the "rule of the many"

The text suggests that, increasingly, matters that were once considered “public” become “private,” and beyond the scope

Aristotle’s notion of democracy is also referred to as 

A theory that government is the reflection of underlying economic forces 

The view that money, expertise, prestige, and political power are spread across competing groups is known as the

The kinds of answers that political scientists usually give to the fundamental political questions tend to be 

Weber’s theory suggests it would be wise for scholars who want to study power to focus on 

An economist who defined democracy as the competitive struggle by political leaders for the people’s vote 

A political system in which all or most citizens participate directly by either holding office or making policy 

A sociologist who emphasized the phenomenon of bureaucracy in explaining political developments

Political system in which the choices of the political leaders are closely constrained by the preferences of the people

Weber assigned a significant amount of power to appointed officials in the bureaucracies of modern governments. 

The ancient Greek city-state where classical democracy was practiced was called a

A sociologist who presented the idea of a mostly nongovernmental power elite 

System of government in which sovereignty is entirely centralized in a government with dependent states and localities

Which of the following is a basic tenet of representative democracy?

Political system in which the choices of the political leaders are closely constrained by the preferences of the people

A system of government in which power rests within a select group of people.

Authority bestowed by law or constitution

Weber felt that bureaucrats merely implemented public policies that are made by elected officials. 

The logical place to begin the study of how power is distributed in U.S. politics is 

Some writers of the Constitution opposed democracy on the grounds that the people would be unable to make wise decisions

The Framers suspected even educated persons could be manipulated by demagogues who played on fears and prejudices

After 9/11, bipartisan homeland security policies and programs were

Individual who worried the new government he helped to create would be too democratic 

C. Wright Mills included corporate, governmental, and labor officials in his theory of the power elite.

The system of government in which absolute political power is concentrated in one individual or elite nucleus of leaders

The right to exercise political power

The ability of one person to cause another person to act in accordance with the first person’s intentions

Max Weber felt that the dominant social and political reality of modern times was that

The Framers of the Constitution did not think that the “will of the people” was synonymous with the “public good.” 

Law that exists independently of political and state law and is considered universal and inalienable

Politics exists in part because people differ about who should govern and the ends toward which they work. 

Which of the following statements is not consistent with Mills’ position?

Which of the following statements about authority is correct?

Power used to determine who will hold government office and how government will behave

Marxist theory says those who control a capitalist economy hold political power over those who do the work

The New England town meeting approximates the Aristotelian ideal. 

In Aristotle’s view, democracy would consist of

The bureaucratic view does the most to reassure that America has been, and continues to be, a democracy

A political system in which local citizens are empowered to govern themselves directly 

Americans seem to agree that the exercise of political power at any level is legitimate only if, in some sense, it is 

Power is given to those chosen by voters in a competitive election in a

The candidate or party that wins the most votes cast in an election, but not necessarily more than half is

A system of government in which political authority is divided between a national government and state governments

Today, some would add major communications media chiefs to Mills’ power elite.

Which of the following statements concerning power is correct?

Pluralists deny the existence of elites.