Political science terms

In politics, the term base refers to a group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office. Base voters are very unlikely to vote for the candidate of an opposing party, regardless of the specific views each candidate holds. In the United States, this is typically because high-level candidates must hold the same stances on key issues as a party's base in order to gain the party's nomination and thus guaranteed ballot access. In the case of legislative elections, base voters often prefer to support their party's candidate against an otherwise appealing opponent in order to strengthen their party's chances of gaining a simple majority - typically the gateway to overarching power - in a legislature. ...more on Wikipedia about "Base (politics)"

Big International Non-Government Organisation (BINGO) is an often derogatory term applied to larger non-governmental organizations. It is sometimes used to imply that a once altruistic charitable entity is now too big to function effectively. ...more on Wikipedia about "Big International Non-Government Organisation"

The Bundesrat ("federal council") is the representation of the 16 Federal States (Länder) of Germany at the federal level. It has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus (House of Lords) in Berlin. ...more on Wikipedia about "Bundesrat of Germany"

Cabinet government refers to any government in which most executive power is invested in a cabinet - often the members act with collective responsibility. Traditionally, the United Kingdom has had a cabinet government - if, however, one subscribes to the view that the prime minister has become dominant (as opposed to primus inter pares) and often bypasses cabinet, the United Kingdom has become a country of prime ministerial government. Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair have both been attributed with the " presidentialisation" of the prime minister due to their extensive use of bilateral meetings, Prime Minister's Office and their authority (from landslide victories). ...more on Wikipedia about "Cabinet government"

Civil society or civil institutions refers to the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations or institutions which form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force backed structures of a state (regardless of that state's political system). ...more on Wikipedia about "Civil society"

Dealignment is a term used by political scientists, in contrast to realignment, to describe a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous partisan affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it. Many scholars argue that the trends in elections in the United States over the last several decades are best characterized as dealignment. ...more on Wikipedia about "Dealignment"

Europeanisation (or Europeanization) refers to a number of related phenomena and patterns of change. ...more on Wikipedia about "Europeanisation"

Hard power is a concept which is mainly used in realism in international relations and refers to national power which comes from military and economic means. ...more on Wikipedia about "Hard power"

Institutionalism in international relations holds that the international system is not—in practice—anarchic, but that it has an implicit or explicit structure which determines how states will act within the system. ...more on Wikipedia about "Institutionalism in international relations"

The Kyklos is a term used by some classical Greek authors to describe what they saw as the political cycle of governments in a society. It was roughly based on the history of Greek city-states in the same period. The concept of "The Kyklos" is first elaborated in Plato's Republic, chapters VIII and IX. Polybius calls it the "anakyklosis". (1) ...more on Wikipedia about "Kyklos"

A marginal seat is a district or constituency held with a particularly small majority in a Parliamentary election conducted under a non-proportional electoral system. These seats require a smaller swing to change hands and are therefore typically the focus of most of the parties' campaign resources. The concentration of money and manpower to areas where they will make the most difference is known as targeting. ...more on Wikipedia about "Marginal seat"

Marxist and Neo-Marxist international relations theories are positivist paradigms which reject the realist/ liberal view of state conflict or cooperation; instead focusing on the economic and material aspects. It makes the assumption that the economic trumps other concerns; allowing for the elevation of class as the focus of study. Marxists view the international system as an integrated capitalist system in pursuit of capital accumulation. Thus, the period of colonialism brought in sources for raw materials and captive markets for exports, while decolonialization brought new opportunities in the form of dependence. ...more on Wikipedia about "Marxist international relations theory"

Military fiat is a process whereby a decision is made and enforced by military means without the participation of other political elements. The Latin term fiat, translated as "let it be," suggests the autocratic attitude ascribed to such a process. For example, many coups involve the imposition of a new government by military fiat. ...more on Wikipedia about "Military fiat"

A nation-state is a specific form of state (a political entity), which exists to provide a sovereign territory for a particular nation (a cultural entity), and which derives its legitimacy from that function. The compact OED defines it as: "a sovereign state of which most of the citizens or subjects are united also by factors which define a nation, such as language or common descent." Typically it is a unitary state with a single system of law and government. It is almost by definition a sovereign state, meaning that there is no external authority above the state itself. ...more on Wikipedia about "Nation-state" www.shortopedia.com , this is it!

In the study of international relations (IR), neoliberalism refers to a school of thought which believes that nation-states are, or at least should be, concerned first and foremost with absolute gains (economic, strategic, etc.), rather than relative gains to other nation-states. The notion is often connected with neoliberal economic theory. Neoliberal IR thinkers often employ game theory to explain why states do or do not cooperate. ...more on Wikipedia about "Neoliberalism in international relations"

Neorealism or structural realism is a theory of international relations, outlined by Kenneth Waltz in his 1979 book, Theory of International Politics. Waltz argues in favor of a systemic approach: The international structure acts as a constraint on state behavior, so that different states behave in a similar rational manner, and outcomes fall within an expected range. ...more on Wikipedia about "Neorealism"

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not part of a government and was not founded by states. NGOs are therefore typically independent of governments. Although the definition can technically include for-profit corporations, the term is generally restricted to social, cultural, legal, and environmental advocacy groups having goals that are primarily noncommercial. NGOs are usually non-profit organizations that gain at least a portion of their funding from private sources. Current usage of the term is generally associated with the United Nations and authentic NGOs are those that are so designated by the UN. ...more on Wikipedia about "Non-governmental organization"

Opinio juris sive necessitatis or Opinio juris is the belief that a behavior was done because it was a legal obligation. This is in contrast to a behavior being the result of different cognitive reaction, or behaviors that were habitual to the individual. This term is frequently used in legal proceedings as as a defense for a case. ...more on Wikipedia about "Opinio juris sive necessitatis"

A police state is a totalitarian state regulated by secret police; the police exercise power on behalf of the executive and the conduct of the police cannot be effectively challenged. In such regimes there is no significant distinction between the law and the will of the executive; there is no rule of law. ...more on Wikipedia about "Police state"

Power projection is a term used in military and political science to refer to the capacity of a state to implement policy by means of force, or the threat thereof, in an area distant from its own territory. The United States Department of Defense, in its publication J1-02: Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, further defines power projection as ...more on Wikipedia about "Power projection"

Prime ministerial government is a government where the prime minister is dominant in terms of the executive. As the prime minister is, by definition, a member of a cabinet - this form of government is often a development from cabinet government. In true cabinet government the prime minister is primus inter pares (first among equals), where prime ministerial government necessitates the crossing of this boundary. An often cited example of prime ministerial government is the United Kingdom, where recent leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, have exercised leadership which circumvents cabinet. Thatcher began using bilateral meetings with individual ministers to determine policy areas using cabinet to simply announce these decisions. Due to the extent of her victory, and her control over cabinet positions, ministers were not as ready to question her as they may have otherwise been. ...more on Wikipedia about "Prime ministerial government"

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USAID defines private voluntary organizations as tax-exempt, non-profit organizations working in, or intending to become engaged in, international development activities. ...more on Wikipedia about "Private voluntary organization"

The term realism comes from the German compound word "Realpolitik", from the words "real" (meaning "realistic", "practical", or "actual") and "politik" (meaning "politics"). It focuses on the balance of power among nation-states. Realpolitik is foreign policy based on practical concerns (political expediency) rather than ideals or ethics. ...more on Wikipedia about "Realism in international relations"

Rechtsstaat is a term borrowed from German jurisprudence which literally means a "legal state" or "constitutional state". It is a state in which the exercise of governmental power is constrained by the law, and is often tied to the Anglo-American concept of the rule of law. In the Rechtsstaat, the power of the state is limited in order to protect citizens from the arbitrary exercise of authority. ...more on Wikipedia about "Rechtsstaat"

:Blue States redirects here. For the musical band of that name, see Blue States (band). ...more on Wikipedia about "Red state vs. blue state divide" You are visiting www.shortopedia.com

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