Kim 1

American Politics Chapter 1 Study Questions

1.1
1. What is government?
the legitimate use of force to control human behavior; also, the organization or agency authorized to
exercise that force
2. Explain globalization and give a concrete example.
the increasing interdependence of citizens and nations across the world
outsourcing (China)
3. Why do international politics and world opinion have an impact on U.S. politics?
international politics and world opinion shapes our policies and economy
1.2
1. What are the major purposes of government and which is the most controversial?
(1) maintaining order (preserving life and protecting property) and (2) providing public goods
more recently, some governments have pursued a third and more controversial purpose: promoting
equality
2. What are some ways that government can promote social equality?
redistribute income, legalize and promote gay marriage
1.3
1. What is a concept and how does using concepts held understanding?
generalized idea of a class of items or thoughts; it groups various events, objects, or qualities under a
common classification label
2. What are the two major dilemmas that have historically faced governments?
original dilemma: freedom vs. order
modern dilemma: freedom vs. equality
o equality impacts choice and freedom
3. How can both liberals and conservatives favor greater scope of the government?
liberals are those willing to use government to promote equality but not order
conservatives are willing to use government to promote order but not equality
1.4
1. How do procedural and substantive democracy differ?
the procedural approach focuses on how decisions are made; the substantive approach is concerned
with what the government does and not on the procedures followed in making those policies.
2. What is the basic concept of majoritarian democracy?
relies on what is fair and translates "government by the people" as government by the majority of the
people
3. How does the pluralistic model of democracy interpret "government by the people"?
an interpretation of democracy in which government by the people is taken to mean government by
the people by people operating through competing interest groups
1.5
1. Offer an example of why democratization is difficult.
democratization is difficult process, and many countries fail completely or succeed only in the short
run and lapse into the form of authoritarianism
even when a country like Iran sets up a democracy, with Mosaddiq (1941), the CIA creates a plan
called project AJAX to overthrow him and put the Reza Shah, a terrible dictator into power
2. Does the U.S. government more closely fit the pluralistic model or the majoritarian model?
more pluralistic
o interest groups are popular, not everyone votes or wants to vote (voting is not mandatory)

Kim 2