Saving My Revised GRE Issue GRE Issue(Manuscript under Review) Copy Right 2012 by James Jiang.

g. All Rights Reserved Authorized and printed at Toronto, Canada, June 2012

Supplementary Ref

015

Key Concepts in Politics

Andrew Heywood. Key Concepts in Politics, St. Martins Press, 2000

Authority: Authority, in its broadest sense, is a form of power, sometimes thought of as legitimate power. Whereas power is the ability to influence the behavior of others, authority is the right to do so. Authority is therefore based upon an acknowledged duty to obey rather than any form of coercion or manipulation. Consensus: A consensus is an agreement, but it is an agreement of a particular kind. Consensus implies, first, a broad agreement, the terms of which are accepted by a wide range of individuals or groups. Second, it implies an agreement about fundamental or underlying principles, as opposed to a precise or exact agreement. Government: Government is commonly understood to refer to the formal and institutional processes which operate at the national level to maintain order and facilitate collective action. The core functions of government are thus to make law (legislation), implement law (execution) and interpret law (adjudication). Human Nature: Human nature refers to the essential and immutable character of all human beings. It highlights what is innate and natural about human life, as opposed to what human beings have gained from education or through social experience. Law: Law is a set of public and enforceable rules that apply throughout a political community. Law can be distinguished from other social rules on four grounds. First, as law is made by the government and thus reflects the will of the state, it takes precedence over all other norms and social rules. Second, law is compulsory; citizens are not allowed to choose which laws to obey and

which is to ignore, because law is backed up by a system of coercion and punishment. Third, law consists in published and recognizes rules that have been enacted through a formal, usually public, legislative process. Fourth, law is generally recognized as binding upon these to whom it applies; law thus embodies moral claims, implying that legal rules should be obeyed. Natural Law: Natural law is law that conforms to higher moral or religious principles. Natural law theories can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, and to the idea of God-given natural rights in the early modern period. They become fashionable again in association with ideas of civil liberty and human rights. Order: In social life, order describes regular, stable and predictable forms of behavior. Social disorder, by contrast, implies chaotic, random and violent behavior. Policy: Policy is better understood as the linkage between intentions, actions and results. At the level of intentions, policy is reflected in the stance of governmentwhat government says that it will do. At the level of actions, policy is reflected in the behavior of governmentwhat government actually does. At the level of results, policy is reflected in the consequences of government actionthe impact of government upon the larger society. Consent: To consent means to agree or grant permission. As a political principle, consent is normally linked to authority, as a means through which people agree to be governed and thus to be bound by political obligation. Leadership: Leadership can be

Saving My Revised GRE Issue GRE Issue(Manuscript under Review) Copy Right 2012 by James Jiang. All Rights Reserved Authorized and printed at Toronto, Canada, June 2012

understood as a pattern of behavior, as a personal quality and as a political value. As a personal attribute, leadership refers to the character traits which enable the leader to exert influence over others. As a political value, leadership refers to guidance and inspiration, the capacity to mobilize others through moral authority or ideological insight. Obligation: An obligation is a requirement or duty to act in a particular way. Legal obligations, such as the requirement to pay taxes and observe other laws, are enforceable through the courts and backed up by a system of penalties. Moral obligations, on

the other hand, are fulfilled because such conduct is thought to be rightful or morally correct. Welfare: Welfare, in its simplest form, means happiness, prosperity or well-being in general; it implies not merely physical survival but some measure of health and contentment as well. The term welfare state is used either to refer a state that assumes broad responsibilities for the social well-being of its citizens, or, more narrowly, to the health, education, housing and social security systems through which these responsibilities are carried out.