Vocabulary about the way Governments Work (or sometimes don't)
Ancien Regime - (Fr. "Old Order") although a general term for "the way it used to be/traditionally has been", the term is most associated with the French monarchy before the Revolution
Annex - v. To take over or absorb neighboring territory into one's country as in "Last March Putin brazenly annexed Crimea"
Balance of Power - a concept repeatedly proposed and intermittently followed in Europe that proposes that war can be avoided if countries agree collectively to prevent any one of them from gaining too much power; particularly associated with the arrangments coming out of the Congress of Vienna in 1815
Bourgeoisie - (Fr. "townspeople") another term for the upper-middle class (think educated, moderately wealthy - doctors, lawyers, merchants, bankers, investors); particularly associated with the "next-to-the-top-tier" folks who were the early leaders of the French Revolution
Burgesses - townspeople; generally refers to the upper-middle-class merchants, guild artistans, etc. This came up in the context of early parliaments, when in 13th century England, elected representatives of the towns began attending meetings of what came to be known as the House of Commons. (It is the same word, by the way, as the French Bourgeoisie and the German Burghers)
Communism - political philosophy asserting that Capitalism is inherently exploitative, and that workers should own and run the means of production; Marx, in The Communist Manifesto went so far as to predict that workers all over the world would unite, revolt against factory owners, and set up a Utopia in which there were no longer any social classes, and even no need for government! The society would (miraculously?) take from each person what he could contribute and redistribute to each person based on what he needed. Yeah...didn't go down that way.
Communitarian - a general term for political philosophies (such as Socialism and Communism) which emphasize the needs of the whole community (in contrast to liberalism)
Consent of the Governed - agreement among those who are ruled that the rule is held legitimately. One common way of demonstrating consent of the governed is through elections
Constitutionalism - understood limitations on governmental power
Coup - an overthrow of government at just the top level. Also called a Coup d'etat. Often this involves top level military removing the previous leader (who might have gotten his job through coup as well)
Divine Right Theory - the concept that a king derives his legitimacy from God (....something of a circular argument if you thing about it: the King has the right to be king because God wants him to be king)
Establishment - official ties between a government and a specific religious institution
Federalism - the principle of having genuine authority existing on both the central and the regional level, as we have in the United States in which policy is made on both the national and state level. (in essence, the opposite of Unitary)
Franchise - the right to vote; to "enfranchise" a person/group is to grant the right to vote, and to disenfranchise is to remove it. The word "disenfranchise" is also used more generally for taking away someone's ability to be heard by those in power. See also Suffrage
Feudalism - a loosely-organized governmental system based on a hierarchy of grants of land and protection in exchange for military service, goods (like food and wood), and loyalty. It tends to develop naturally when large-scale governance and infrastructure break down. At the higher levels it is usually characterized by family (ie. marriage) alliances, shifting loyalties, and primogeniture. At the lower levels it supports manorialism. Here is a link to a classic representation of the Feudal social pyramid in Medieval Europe.
Fused System - a system, like a Parliamentary system, in which the same body holds both legislative and executive powers (in essence, the opposite of Separated Powers)
Grand Jury - a modern term referring to a jury charged with determining whether or not there is sufficient evidenct to go justify a trial, not guilt or innocence. see Jury
Guerilla War - a pattern of on "hit and run" tactics, used in particular by a local population against an occupying force; the attackers are able to "melt into the population". The term comes from the Spanish "Little War", and was coined to refer to the resistance to Napoleon's rule; it has applied many times to what our fellows have faced - in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam
Habeas Corpus - the requirement that if a government arrests and confines a person, the reason for that arrest must be made public within a brief time limit (48 hours, for example) or the person must be released. This is a centrally important civil liberty, included in the English Bill of Rights (It is also the only civil liberty directly guaranteed within the original body of the US Constitution)
Home Rule - a measure of autonomy granted to a region/city. Often discussed in the context of the relationship between the UK and Ireland (the Irish clamoured for it in the 19th Century; started to get it in the early 20th but then most of Ireland gained independence. The current arrangement with a separate Northern Irish Parliament is also a kind of Home Rule), and in the context of large American cities.
Imperialism - the control of a territory by another state that is clearly different from them; most often in the context of European Imperialism in non-Western areas. By the 19th Century, European powers controlled essentially all of Africa, and most of Asia and the Pacific.
Jury (as the term was used in the Middle Ages) - as with our "Grand Jury", an English jury in the Middle Ages determined whether or not there was sufficient evidence to justify a trial. They were NOT responsible for determining guilt or deciding punishment.
Left and Right - slang for the two poles of the political spectrum with communitarianism (the needs of the many) at one end and liberalism (the rights of the individual) at the other. The terms came from reference to the French National Assembly, in which the Moderate Girondists who wanted Lockean protections for the sat on the right, and Radical Jacobins who wanted to realize Rousseau's socialism sat on the left.
Liberalism - [as political scientists use the term - not the same as the way we tend to use it in the US today; sorry about that] the general term for political philosophies that emphasize protection of individual liberties and political rights; emphasis is on free trade and minimal government involvement in the economy
Meritocracy - government (or any institution) in which people rise to positions of power based on intelligence and skill, in contrast to blood, connections, etc.
Machiavellian - an adjective for a leader or politician (or anyone else) who follows the advice of Machiavelli to "leave ethics at the door" because "the end justifies the means." It has a negative connotation of ruthless calculation, which is a somewhat unfair reading of Machiavelli actually said, but, hey, that's how it's used.
Nation-State - a sovereign state whose borders correspond roughly to where a nation of people resides.
Nationalism - devotion to and promotion of one's national group (a group that perceives itself as a group based on shared language, history, culture, ethnicity, values, etc., and that controls or wishes to control a state)
Natural Rights - rights that we (at least according to John Locke and those agreeing with him) that we all have merely because we're human. In other words, these rights are not "given" to us by government, nor can they be taken from us without due process. As Locke articulated them, these rights are Life, Liberty, and Property. Locke goes on to assert that the primary purpose of government is to protect natural rights, and that, if a government is not doing this, a citizenry is justified in overthrowing the government
Nepotism - the practice of hiring ones relatives
Parliament - a representaive law-making body, in other words, a legislature
Parliamentary System - a governmental system - such as are found in the United Kingdom, Germany, and many other European countrys - in which the legislative branch selects the exeutive from among themselves, meaning also that the executive can mostly rely on majority support from the legislature (in contrast to a presidential system with separated powers)
Plebiscite - a popular vote on a specific issue; similar to a referendum
Presidential System - a government system, such as the one in the United States, in which the executive is elected and operates separately from the legislature, in other words, in which there are separated powers. (in contrast to a Parliamentary system with fused powers)
Puppet Government - a government that is a figurehead controlled by an outside force; came up in the context of Napoleon's way of controlling territories indirectly
Radical - describes views that assert that not only is significant change necessary, but also that it can only be effected by "pulling the old regime (or institutions or socio-economic order) out with the roots"
Reactionary - describes views that are REACTING against change; attempts to 'turn back the clock' and reinstate previous values, practices, institutions, etc.,
Realpolitick - similar to "Machiavellian", it is a political philosophy that is focused not on principle or ideology, but on what will work to benefit a nation. Especially associated with Bismarck
Regime - a government's ongoing structures and institutions
Saber Rattling - the tactic of moving one's troops in close, firing off "test missiles", etc. as a threatening show of force; might be genuine, or might be just show
Separated Powers/ Separation of Powers - refers to a system in which the power to negotiate, write, and enact policy - that is, legislative power - rests with one body, and the power to carry out that policy - that is, executive power - rests with another. (in essence, the opposite of fused powers); the observation and promotion of this as a mechanism to control government power is particularly associated with Baron de Montesquieu
Social Contract - the principle that we get that we need government and establish agreed upon because man in a "state of nature" is selfish and warlike; thus, we follow rules so that others will also follow the rules. Associated in particular with Thomas Hobbes (who said that the Social Contract, not Divine Right, was the justification for power), but embraced by later Philosophes as well.
Statute - a written law, written either by a legislature or decreed by an executive. (Statuatory law contrasts with common law, which evolves as a result of centuries of individual judicial decisions, also called precedents)
Suffrage - the right to vote
Unitary - describes a system in which all significant authority emanates from a central power, although for practical reasons there may be regional administrative units to implement policy (in essence, the opposite of Federalism)
Utilitarianism - 19th Century Political philosophy asserting that government policy should be shaped to provide the greatest happiness to the greatest number -- nice thought...not so easy to enact.
Zollverein - the policy removing trade barriers among the German-speaking states in the early/mid 19th Century; the kind of economic unification that frequent is the first step toward political unification.
Annex - v. To take over or absorb neighboring territory into one's country as in "Last March Putin brazenly annexed Crimea"
Balance of Power - a concept repeatedly proposed and intermittently followed in Europe that proposes that war can be avoided if countries agree collectively to prevent any one of them from gaining too much power; particularly associated with the arrangments coming out of the Congress of Vienna in 1815
Bourgeoisie - (Fr. "townspeople") another term for the upper-middle class (think educated, moderately wealthy - doctors, lawyers, merchants, bankers, investors); particularly associated with the "next-to-the-top-tier" folks who were the early leaders of the French Revolution
Burgesses - townspeople; generally refers to the upper-middle-class merchants, guild artistans, etc. This came up in the context of early parliaments, when in 13th century England, elected representatives of the towns began attending meetings of what came to be known as the House of Commons. (It is the same word, by the way, as the French Bourgeoisie and the German Burghers)
Communism - political philosophy asserting that Capitalism is inherently exploitative, and that workers should own and run the means of production; Marx, in The Communist Manifesto went so far as to predict that workers all over the world would unite, revolt against factory owners, and set up a Utopia in which there were no longer any social classes, and even no need for government! The society would (miraculously?) take from each person what he could contribute and redistribute to each person based on what he needed. Yeah...didn't go down that way.
Communitarian - a general term for political philosophies (such as Socialism and Communism) which emphasize the needs of the whole community (in contrast to liberalism)
Consent of the Governed - agreement among those who are ruled that the rule is held legitimately. One common way of demonstrating consent of the governed is through elections
Constitutionalism - understood limitations on governmental power
Coup - an overthrow of government at just the top level. Also called a Coup d'etat. Often this involves top level military removing the previous leader (who might have gotten his job through coup as well)
Divine Right Theory - the concept that a king derives his legitimacy from God (....something of a circular argument if you thing about it: the King has the right to be king because God wants him to be king)
Establishment - official ties between a government and a specific religious institution
Federalism - the principle of having genuine authority existing on both the central and the regional level, as we have in the United States in which policy is made on both the national and state level. (in essence, the opposite of Unitary)
Franchise - the right to vote; to "enfranchise" a person/group is to grant the right to vote, and to disenfranchise is to remove it. The word "disenfranchise" is also used more generally for taking away someone's ability to be heard by those in power. See also Suffrage
Feudalism - a loosely-organized governmental system based on a hierarchy of grants of land and protection in exchange for military service, goods (like food and wood), and loyalty. It tends to develop naturally when large-scale governance and infrastructure break down. At the higher levels it is usually characterized by family (ie. marriage) alliances, shifting loyalties, and primogeniture. At the lower levels it supports manorialism. Here is a link to a classic representation of the Feudal social pyramid in Medieval Europe.
Fused System - a system, like a Parliamentary system, in which the same body holds both legislative and executive powers (in essence, the opposite of Separated Powers)
Grand Jury - a modern term referring to a jury charged with determining whether or not there is sufficient evidenct to go justify a trial, not guilt or innocence. see Jury
Guerilla War - a pattern of on "hit and run" tactics, used in particular by a local population against an occupying force; the attackers are able to "melt into the population". The term comes from the Spanish "Little War", and was coined to refer to the resistance to Napoleon's rule; it has applied many times to what our fellows have faced - in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam
Habeas Corpus - the requirement that if a government arrests and confines a person, the reason for that arrest must be made public within a brief time limit (48 hours, for example) or the person must be released. This is a centrally important civil liberty, included in the English Bill of Rights (It is also the only civil liberty directly guaranteed within the original body of the US Constitution)
Home Rule - a measure of autonomy granted to a region/city. Often discussed in the context of the relationship between the UK and Ireland (the Irish clamoured for it in the 19th Century; started to get it in the early 20th but then most of Ireland gained independence. The current arrangement with a separate Northern Irish Parliament is also a kind of Home Rule), and in the context of large American cities.
Imperialism - the control of a territory by another state that is clearly different from them; most often in the context of European Imperialism in non-Western areas. By the 19th Century, European powers controlled essentially all of Africa, and most of Asia and the Pacific.
Jury (as the term was used in the Middle Ages) - as with our "Grand Jury", an English jury in the Middle Ages determined whether or not there was sufficient evidence to justify a trial. They were NOT responsible for determining guilt or deciding punishment.
Left and Right - slang for the two poles of the political spectrum with communitarianism (the needs of the many) at one end and liberalism (the rights of the individual) at the other. The terms came from reference to the French National Assembly, in which the Moderate Girondists who wanted Lockean protections for the sat on the right, and Radical Jacobins who wanted to realize Rousseau's socialism sat on the left.
Liberalism - [as political scientists use the term - not the same as the way we tend to use it in the US today; sorry about that] the general term for political philosophies that emphasize protection of individual liberties and political rights; emphasis is on free trade and minimal government involvement in the economy
Meritocracy - government (or any institution) in which people rise to positions of power based on intelligence and skill, in contrast to blood, connections, etc.
Machiavellian - an adjective for a leader or politician (or anyone else) who follows the advice of Machiavelli to "leave ethics at the door" because "the end justifies the means." It has a negative connotation of ruthless calculation, which is a somewhat unfair reading of Machiavelli actually said, but, hey, that's how it's used.
Nation-State - a sovereign state whose borders correspond roughly to where a nation of people resides.
Nationalism - devotion to and promotion of one's national group (a group that perceives itself as a group based on shared language, history, culture, ethnicity, values, etc., and that controls or wishes to control a state)
Natural Rights - rights that we (at least according to John Locke and those agreeing with him) that we all have merely because we're human. In other words, these rights are not "given" to us by government, nor can they be taken from us without due process. As Locke articulated them, these rights are Life, Liberty, and Property. Locke goes on to assert that the primary purpose of government is to protect natural rights, and that, if a government is not doing this, a citizenry is justified in overthrowing the government
Nepotism - the practice of hiring ones relatives
Parliament - a representaive law-making body, in other words, a legislature
Parliamentary System - a governmental system - such as are found in the United Kingdom, Germany, and many other European countrys - in which the legislative branch selects the exeutive from among themselves, meaning also that the executive can mostly rely on majority support from the legislature (in contrast to a presidential system with separated powers)
Plebiscite - a popular vote on a specific issue; similar to a referendum
Presidential System - a government system, such as the one in the United States, in which the executive is elected and operates separately from the legislature, in other words, in which there are separated powers. (in contrast to a Parliamentary system with fused powers)
Puppet Government - a government that is a figurehead controlled by an outside force; came up in the context of Napoleon's way of controlling territories indirectly
Radical - describes views that assert that not only is significant change necessary, but also that it can only be effected by "pulling the old regime (or institutions or socio-economic order) out with the roots"
Reactionary - describes views that are REACTING against change; attempts to 'turn back the clock' and reinstate previous values, practices, institutions, etc.,
Realpolitick - similar to "Machiavellian", it is a political philosophy that is focused not on principle or ideology, but on what will work to benefit a nation. Especially associated with Bismarck
Regime - a government's ongoing structures and institutions
Saber Rattling - the tactic of moving one's troops in close, firing off "test missiles", etc. as a threatening show of force; might be genuine, or might be just show
Separated Powers/ Separation of Powers - refers to a system in which the power to negotiate, write, and enact policy - that is, legislative power - rests with one body, and the power to carry out that policy - that is, executive power - rests with another. (in essence, the opposite of fused powers); the observation and promotion of this as a mechanism to control government power is particularly associated with Baron de Montesquieu
Social Contract - the principle that we get that we need government and establish agreed upon because man in a "state of nature" is selfish and warlike; thus, we follow rules so that others will also follow the rules. Associated in particular with Thomas Hobbes (who said that the Social Contract, not Divine Right, was the justification for power), but embraced by later Philosophes as well.
Statute - a written law, written either by a legislature or decreed by an executive. (Statuatory law contrasts with common law, which evolves as a result of centuries of individual judicial decisions, also called precedents)
Suffrage - the right to vote
Unitary - describes a system in which all significant authority emanates from a central power, although for practical reasons there may be regional administrative units to implement policy (in essence, the opposite of Federalism)
Utilitarianism - 19th Century Political philosophy asserting that government policy should be shaped to provide the greatest happiness to the greatest number -- nice thought...not so easy to enact.
Zollverein - the policy removing trade barriers among the German-speaking states in the early/mid 19th Century; the kind of economic unification that frequent is the first step toward political unification.