Defining Key Terms

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A useful dialogue about class matters requires we have a common understanding of the terms we will use in class. I break these down into two broad categories: those that fit under the heading of “government” and those that fit under the heading of “politics.” The former relate to the institutions that are granted – or otherwise acquire – the authority to govern. This means they get to set and implement public policy. The latter are those that struggle over what the governing institutions do. What types of policies are established and implemented. We will discuss – briefly – the different types of governing arrangements that exist in order to put the American system in context, and then discuss some of the basic terms we will use over this semester. This is all to improve efficiency, so we don’t struggle much over communications.

For past blog posts on related subject matter:

- Authoritarianism.
- Autocracy.
- Constitutions.
- Democracy.
- Direct Democracy.
- Ideology.
- Interest Groups.
- Oligarcy.
- Plutocracy.
- Political Parties.
- The Media.
- Totalitarianism.