American Politics: Key Terms

1. Prisoners dilemma- A situation in which two (or more) actors cannot agree to cooperate for fear
that the other will find its interest best served by reneging an agreement. A and B rob a bank. If
neither confesses they will both get 6 months in jail. If both confess they will each get 10 years.
If one person confesses they will get no jail time and the other will get 10 years. Both actors are
motivated to confess despite the fact that the best outcome for both of them would be if neither
does. This is one of the most common obstacles to collective action.
Example: States under the Articles of Confederation would have been better off if they all
worked together to negotiate foreign treaties. However each had a powerful incentive to
negotiate a sweet deal with a foreign power, which would leave them better off than their
fellow states. No one state could trust the others not to do this, so none agreed to work
together.
2. Coordination problem- A group of individuals agree on what outcome is desired, but cant
synchronize their actions to achieve that outcome. A, B, and C all want to go to the movies, but
cant seem to find a time to do so. This is one of the most common obstacles to collective action.
3. Collective Good (Public Good)- Goods that are collectively produced and freely available for
anyones consumption. Providing Public goods is one of the main functions of government,
however, it often has a difficult time performing this duty due to collective action problems such
as coordination and prisoners dilemma, and have difficulty maintaining them due to tragedy of
the commons.
Example: National Defense or Highway system.
4. Free Rider Problem (collective action problem)- A situation, in which individuals can receive the
benefits from a collective activity whether or not they helped to pay for it, leaving them with no
incentive to contribute. People are very motivated to be free riders, which can hurt collective
action, or produce tragedy of the commons. Government cannot function if there is prevalent free
riding; therefore it is the duty of the government to stop free riding.
Example: An individual does not pay taxes but still enjoys the security of national defense,
and drives on highways to work everyday.
5. Selective Incentive- An action that stimulates a rational individual in a latent group to act in a
group-oriented way; that is, only a benefit reserved strictly for group members will motivate one
to join and contribute to the group. This means that individuals will act collectively to provide
private goods, but not to provide public goods. The most common selective incentives are
achieved through privatization or coercion.
Example: Social security is a collective good, yet people get this money based on the amount
of money they put in (privatization). Highways are a collective good paid for by taxes. Tax
law is a form of coercion by which the national government forces you to contribute to this
collective good.
6. Conformity Costs- The difference between what a person ideally would prefer and what the
group with which that person makes collective decisions actually does. Individuals pay
conformity costs whenever collective decisions produce policy outcomes that do not best serve
their interests. These occur in almost every type of government (except unanimous government),
and are inversely related to transaction costs.
Example: When congress passed the Civil Rights bill of 1964 pro-segregation southerners
had so endure conformity costs.
7. Transaction Costs- The cost of doing political business reflected in the time and effort required to
compare preferences and negotiate compromises in making collective decisions. These occur in
almost every type of government (except dictatorships), and are inversely related to conformity
costs. It is important because these costs rise sharply as the number of participants whose
preferences must be taken into account increases. Thus, transaction costs can pose a formidable
barrier to political agreements.
Example: In order to pass a bill into law the bill must pass both houses of congress and the
president. At any of these stages the bill is vulnerable to the preferences of political actors
and can be killed. Thus it is very difficult to get a bill passed.
8. Continental Congress- An assembly of representatives from each of the 13 colonies, which met
in order to address the actions of the British in the colonies. It served as a proto-government to
the United States by collecting taxes, raising a militia, creating states, issuing bonds, creating a
national currency, and passing laws. It eventually passed the Declaration of Independence.
9. Articles of Confederation- The compact among the thirteen original states that formed the basis
of the first national government of the United States from 1777 to 1789. Each state had one vote
in congress. One needed at least 9 votes to pass legislation and all 13 to change the Articles. It
lacked the ability to levy taxes, regulate commerce, negotiate foreign trade agreements, and
enforce its decisions. Its weakness was highlighted during Shays rebellion, which it was ill
equipped to deal with.
10. Shays Rebellion- Uprising of 1789 led by Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental
army and a bankrupt Massachusetts farmer, to protest the states high taxes and aggressive debt
collection polities. The rebellion was important because it demonstrated a fundamental weakness
of the Articles of Confederation- its inability to keep the peace- and stimulated interest in
strengthening the national government, leading to the Philadelphia convention that framed the
Constitution.
11. Virginia Plan- Constitutional blueprint drafted by James Madison that sought to reform the
Articles of Confederation. Introduced at the Constitutional Convention (1787), this proposal
called for, among other things, a bicameral legislative branch in which population determined
state representation. This proposal clearly favored large states, like Virginia, and was strongly
opposed by smaller states. It was important because eventually, the structure of the House of
Representatives would come to reflect the principles of the Virginia Plan.
12. New Jersey Plan- A proposal for the structure of the United States government put forth by
William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention. This proposal called for a unicameral
legislative branch in which all states had equal representation, which favored the smaller states
by not taking population into consideration for state representation. This is important because in
the end, this proposal became the structure for the United States Senate.
13. Connecticut Compromise- AKA The Great Compromise. It was an agreement between large and
small states that defined the structure of the legislature and representation that each state would
have in congress under the United States Constitution. It was a compromise between the Virginia
and New Jersey Plans. It retained bicameral legislature (two chamber legislation); with a lower
chamber (House of Representatives) which would be based on population (like the Virginia Plan)
and an upper chamber (Senate) which would include equal representation for all states (like the
New Jersey Plan). This was an important hurdle during the constitutional convention and was
key to achieving widespread support for the constitution.
14. Logroll- This is a form of standard bargaining strategy in which two sides swap support for
dissimilar policies: essentially, legislative vote trading. For example, legislators representing
urban districts may vote for an agricultural bill provided that legislators from rural districts vote
for a mass transit bill.
Example: When figuring out how slaves would be incorporated when allocating
congressional representatives to the states, Southern delegates claimed that slaves were
people and they should be counted. Northerners disagreed by claiming that they didn't
enjoy freedom as citizens. Since they couldn't decide, they looked for an alternative. Both
sides agreed that a slave would be 3/5ths of a person. The south agreed to remove their
opposition to an issue that was important to the Norths commercial interests, and the
North agreed to protect the importation of slaves until at least 1808.
15. Supremacy Clause- A clause in Article VI of the Constitution declaring that national laws are the
supreme law of the land and therefore take precedence over any laws adopted by states or
localities. This is important because it contributed to the expansion of the powers of the national
government.
Example: Black codes in the south were overwritten with the passage of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.
16. Enumerate Powers- The explicit powers given to Congress by the Constitution in Article I,
Section 8. These include the powers of taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and
provision of the national defense. The constitution granted Enumerated Powers rather than giving
congress free reign to make any law (as the Virginia Plan did) thus limiting the power of
Congress.
17. Necessary and Proper Clause- The last clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. This
clause grants Congress the authority to make all laws that are necessary and proper and to
execute those laws. It is important because it left the door open for a major expansion of
Congresss legislative power and the nationalization of public policy during the 20th century.
18. Commerce Clause- The clause in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution that gives Congress the
authority to regulate commerce with other nations and among states. This was a great expansion
of the powers of congress when compared to the Articles of Confederation. It is important
because it kept states from attempting to strengthen their own economy at the expense of their
neighbors, and this reduced competition was ultimately better for all the states.
19. 3/5ths Compromise- The southern states wanted slaves to count as people (in order to boost
southern representation in the house of representatives) and northern states did not. Eventually a
compromise was reached and a slave would count as 3/5ths of a citizen when determining
representation in the House of Representatives. This was important because for tax reasons the
north and south were switched. The south did not want a higher population because they did not
want to pay more taxes so they did not want slaves to count as a person. The north wanted the
south to have to pay more taxes (and reap the benefit of a better funded government) and so they
wanted slaves to count as a person. This is an example of a logroll.
20. Separation of Powers- The distribution of government powers among several political
institutions. In the United States, at the national level power is divided between the three
branches: Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court. This is an important because by
separating power the founding fathers kept any one person or group from becoming too powerful
or tyrannical.
21. Checks and Balances- A constitutional mechanism giving each branch some oversight and
control over the other branches. This is important because it keeps any one section of government
from becoming too powerful or tyrannical. Furthermore it raised transaction costs and makes it
difficult to get things done, resulting in a status quo bias.
Example: Presidential veto, Senate approval of presidential appointments, and judicial review
of presidential and congressional actions.
22. Separated Institutions Sharing Powers- This is another, more accurate, way to phrase the
common separation of powers. In American government the three branches are not actually
completely separate. They sometimes perform similar functions or must work together in order to
perform one function. In this case it is more accurate to say that they share powers, not that their
powers are separated. This is important because this form of government raises transaction costs
and makes it difficult to get things done.
Example: The president, through the veto, has the power to legislate. The Supreme Court,
through judicial review, has the power both to legislate (interpret laws) and Execute (interpret
how laws are to be executed). Congress has the ability to Execute by detailing how a law
should be implemented.
23. Electoral College- A body of electors in each state, chosen by voters, who formally elect the
president and vice president of the United States. Each states number of electoral votes equals its
representation in Congress; the District of Columbia has three votes. An absolute majority of the
total electoral vote is required to elect a president and vice president. This is an important
example of the non-democratic nature of the constitution. Technically state legislatures can
choose to allocate electoral votes however they choose, however all state legislatures have
chosen to allocate them based on the popular vote. However it is important to note that this is an
imperfect system. It is still possible to win the popular vote and still lose the election.
24. Take Care Clause- The provision in Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution instructing the
president to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. This somewhat vague clause has
allowed presidents in recent years to snatch more power for themselves than they had previously
through unilateral action (that is action without the approval of the courts or congress).
25. Antifederalist critiques of Constitution- Antifederalists believed that the Constitution would
infringe on individual freedom and states rights. They argued that only local democracy, the kind
found in small homogeneous communities, could approach true democracy, and that the US was
already too big to be well ruled by a single set of laws. Furthermore they argued that a strong
national government would put the US in danger of tyranny. This is important because it
eventually led to a capitulation by the Federalists and resulted in the Bill of Rights, which
explicitly laid out the rights of the citizenry.
26. Federalist 10- One of the most effective of the Federalist papers, written by James Madison. It
argued that a representative government (instead of a true democracy) would dilute the factious
spirit that can be so dangerous, because politicians must moderate their views in order to gain
enough support to get elected. Furthermore it argued that by creating a very large republic it
would be less likely that any one faction would be able to gain widespread support. This paper is
important because it was one of the most influential arguments for the constitution at the time,
and many believe that it contributed significantly to its passage.
27. Federalist 51- One of the most effective of the Federalist papers, written by James Madison. It
argued that the Constitution would combat the tyranny that so many people feared by pitting the
government against itself. By giving each branch of government the means and motive to defend
itself one would make it impossible for any one branch to gain too much power. This paper was
important because it was one of the most influential arguments for the constitution and it
contributed significantly to its passage.
28. Ambition-to-counter-ambition- This is the idea put forth by James Madison in Federalist 51,
which would keep the American government from becoming tyrannical. By giving each branch
of government the motive and means to defend itself the ambition of any one branch would
always be checked by the opposite ambition of the other branches, thereby making it very
difficult for any one branch to gain power.
29. Mischief of faction- Factions will always try to gain more power for themselves, at the expense
of the nation as a whole. This mischief would be detrimental to the democratic system, so
Madison argues that a republican system would temper these effects.
30. Impeachment- To charge a public official with improper conduct in office before a formal
tribunal. Contrary to popular belief, impeachment is not necessarily removal of a government
official from office, although it can sometimes result in this. This is an important part of the
system of checks and balances within the constitution. Congress has the power to impeach both
the president and federal judges.
Example: President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 on the charges of perjury and
obstruction of justice. He was, however, acquitted of these charges. This was largely in
response to the Lewinsky scandal. However, it should be noted that the president is not
the only government official who can be impeached.
31. Bill of Rights- A collective name for the first 10 amendments to the constitution. They were
added to combat strong Antifederalsit arguments that the constitution would allow the federal
government to tyrannize the nation by denying individual rights. The bill of rights is a list of
individual rights that the national government cannot infringe on. This is important because it
limits the conformity costs that citizens must endure and, by the same token, increases
transaction costs, making it harder for government to act.
32. 10
th
Amendment- The amendment that offers the most explicit endorsement of federalism to be
found in the Constitution: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This
was perhaps the greatest triumph of the Antifederalists, who wanted more power to remain with
the states. However, the Tenth Amendment has failed to fend off federal authority. The powerful
combination of the supremacy and the elastic clauses reduced the Tenth Amendment to little
more than lip service to the principle of states rights.
33. Judicial Review- The authority of a court to declare legislative and executive acts
unconstitutional and therefore invalid. This is a very important check in the Constitution.
However the power of judicial review was not always so defined. It was only after the Supreme
Court decision, Marbury v. Madison (1803), in which the court laid claim to the authority to
strike down any legislation, even federal legislation, which it deemed unconstitutional, that the
true power of judicial review was displayed.
34. Division of War Powers (power to declare war; commander-in-chief)- While the president is the
Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, it is Congress who has the power to declare war and
the Senate who has the power to approve any treaties he might create. This was designed as a
check on presidential power in order to keep him from becoming too powerful.
35. Federal vs. Unitary System- A federal system is a system of government in which power is
shared by a central (national) government and several regional (state) governments. Conversely,
a unitary system is a system of government in which a single government unit holds the power to
govern the nation. Having just experienced a Unitary government (one in which authority is
centralized in a central government which then delegates authority to state and local
governments) under Britain, and a Confederation (a government in which authority lies with state
and local governments, and is then delegated to a central government by consensus agreements)
under the Articles of Confederation, the delegates at the constitutional convention knew they
needed some sort of compromise. This came in the form of a Federation.
Example: The United States is a Federal System while Britain is a Unitary System.
36. Laboratories of Democracy- Also called Laboratories for Reform, this is the idea that states
provide their citizens with opportunities to change politics on a smaller scale, giving everyone
else the chance to observe the effects of a reform without risking it themselves. This is important
to the development of legislation within the US, because successes tend to be emulated and can
even become examples for National policy.
Example: The national struggle to give women the right to vote won its first victories in
the states. This piecemeal approach put pressure on congress to pass the womens
suffrage amendment in 1918, and thus shows the ability of state governments to
effectually change national policy.
37. Candidate-centered Elections- Elections in which candidates run as individuals, not as members
of a particular political party. This is exemplified when incumbents win reelection despite the
fact that their party has become unpopular. This sort of election was prominent from the 1910s
to the 1960s when there was little partisanship in government and congress was dominated by
the committee system.
Example: In 2008 the Republican party-leaders did not favor John McCain, but he was
still able to win the nomination by appealing to moderates and independents with his
candidate-centered strategy.
38. Divided party control of government (Divided Government)- A term used to describe
government when one political party controls the executive branch and the other political party
controls one or both houses of the legislature. This form of government is more likely to result in
gridlock and unilateral action by the president. Divided government has become much more
common in the last 50 years because structural advantage of Democrats in Congress and
structural advantage of Republicans in Presidency (gerrymandering in recent years giving
Republicans control of House in 2010).
Example: Currently Obama (a democrat) controls the Executive, while republicans
control the Senate. This made it very difficult for Obama to pass the healthcare reform
bill.
39. Senate Balance (Free vs. Slave State)- An attempt at equal representation between free and
slave states in the Senate. This preserved the souths veto over national policy. This balance
required matching states entry- one slave state with one free state- into the Union. This is
important because though the Senate was originally created in order to protect the interests of
small states, it had quickly evolved to guarantee the South a veto over policy curtailing slavery.
Example: Missouri was admitted as a slave state only on the condition that Main be
admitted as a free state.
40. Missouri Compromise- In 1819 Missouri petitioned to become a slave state, however this
inflamed the north, which believed that slavery, was encroaching on northern territory. The
compromise admitted Missouri (a slave state) and Main (a free state) at the same time, in order to
keep a balance in the senate between free and slave states. In addition it created a boundary at
Missouris southern boarder (36
o
30), beyond which slavery could not extend northward in the
future. This was important because it outlined the expansion of slavery into the territories.
41. Compromise of 1850- This compromise allowed California to be admitted into the union as a
free state (with no corresponding slave state as was custom) in return for the passage of the
Fugitive Slave Law, which allowed southerners to recapture runaway slaves in the north.
Furthermore it allowed the residents of territories to decide for themselves whether to apply for
statehood as a slave or free state. This was important because with the introduction of California
as a state, the south lost their veto power over national policy.
42. Abolitionism- A movement to end slavery and set slaves free. This movement is important
because it led directly to tensions between the North and South. Looking at abolitionism is also
important because it reminds us of just how long and arduous the process to political equality has
been, but how when under the right circumstances and means for collective action, such equality
can be won.
43. Dred Scott Case- in 1857 the Supreme Court ruled on the Dred Scott v. Sandford determining
that the federal government could not prevent slavery in the territories. This was very
controversial and opened up the question that state laws banning slavery might also be
unconstitutional. This proved such a controversy that Abraham Lincoln won the 1860
presidential election along with many other anti-slavery Republican candidates in the house and
senate. For the first time in history there was an anti-slavery majority in both houses of congress
and the white house.
44. 14
th
Amendment- This amendment gave all former slaves formal citizenship and equal protection
under the law in the United States. It also stipulated that a states representation in the House of
Representatives would only include black citizens if those black citizens were allowed to vote.
Congress made ratification of this amendment contingent on a states readmission into the Union.
45. 15
th
Amendment- This amendment formally gave all former slaves the right to vote. Stating that
the right to vote could not be abridged on account of race, color, or previous condition of
servitude. This was important because it changed the electorate for new political candidates.
46. Black Codes- Laws enacted by southern legislatures after the Civil War that prevented former
slaves from voting, forbidding them to sit on juries, limiting their right to testify against white
men and carry weapons in public places and work in certain occupations. These laws effectively
kept black citizens from voting.
Example: White Primary, Grandfather Clause, Poll Taxes and Literacy Tests.
47. Jim Crow System- A series of laws enacted in the late 19
th
century by southern states to institute
segregation. These laws created whites only public accommodations such as schools, hotels,
and restaurants.
48. White Primary- A practice that permitted political parties to exclude African Americans from
voting in primary elections. Because historically in the South winning the Democratic primary
was tantamount to winning the general election, this law in effect disenfranchised black voters in
southern states,
49. Grandfather Clause- Statutes stating that only those people whose grandfather had voted before
reconstruction could vote, unless they passed a literacy or wealth test. After the Civil War this
mechanism was used to disenfranchise African Americans.
50. Plessey v. Ferguson- This Supreme Court case declared the Souths Jim Crow laws and
systematic segregation constitutional, thus creating the Separate but Equal doctrine that
dominated for the next half-century. This gave southern states the legal power to discriminate
against African Americans.
51. Brown v. Board of Education- This Supreme Court decision overturned Plessey v. Ferguson, and
established that separate but equal was inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional. This
undermined the legal prop of the Jim Crow laws and began the process of desegregation.
52. Civil Rights Act, 1964- This piece of legislation, introduced by LBJ, authorized the national
government to end segregation in public education and public accommodations. One particularly
effective method of desegregation was the ability of the Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare to withhold funds from public schools that refused to desegregate. This produced a
dramatic upswing in the number of desegregations. This bill was also the beginning of the
African American support of the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party.
53. Voting Rights Act, 1965- This piece of legislation, also introduce by LBJ, outlawed
discriminatory voting practices. It authorized the national government to suspend restrictive
electoral tests and register voters directly in areas with low black voter turnout. The states also
had to obtain clearance from the justice department before changing their election laws. This was
important because it resulted in much higher African American voter registration and turnout.
54. President at Clerk- during the republics first century presidents typically assumed a small roll
in government. Their largest power was that of the appointments they made. Throughout the
century all federal employees were appointed by the president, meaning that his calendar was
devoted to interviewing job seekers, listening to their party sponsors, and signing appointment
letters. This is significant, because it highlights the limitations placed on presidents, who are
mandated to be leaders, but only given the tools to be clerks.
Example: Obama failed to create a comprehensive health care reform, since he did not
possess the necessary constitutional tools to make substantive changes to national policy.
Thus, he was reduced to outlining the basic contours of the reform and leaving it to
Congress to flesh out the policy
55. Power to Persuade- According to Neustadt presidents dont actually have a lot of innate power,
instead their power comes from their ability to persuade people to pursue common goals and
their ability to bargain. This ability is affected by how other political actors view them (if they
believe they will succeed regardless of their support), how popular they are with the public and
their skill at negotiations and bargaining.
56. Going Public- Kernell opposes Neustadts theory. He believes that while a president has power in
bargaining and persuasion they also have the option of going straight to the American people.
Because the president is such a national figure it is possible for them to rally national support by
asking the people themselves to support a specific endeavor. If they can get enough people to
support something, members of congress will be reluctant to reject it for fear that it will cost
them the reelection. A presidents ability to go public is affected by his national popularity. If he
is very popular nationally (as most presidents are at the beginning of their term) then he has a
greater capacity to go public. Going public also has some risks associated with it. If a president
goes public he is putting his full support behind a bill, meaning that if it doesnt work it reflects
badly on him. Furthermore, it limits his ability to bargain with members of congress and may
cause members of congress to resent him.
57. Permanent Campaign- The advent of instant information has given rise to a presidency in which
short-term tactical gain is given priority over long-term vision. The frenzied headline-grabbing
atmosphere of presidential campaigns has carried over into the office itself, thus creating a
permanent campaign that limits the ability of policies to deviate from the perceived will of the
people. This has the side effect of increasing the amount of polling done by presidents.
58. Unilateral Action- The practice of presidents to take action on a subject without legislation from
congress. In this way a president may circumvent the normal legislative process and create an
environment in which his policy is likely to emerge victorious.
Example: Executive order, signing statements, negotiating foreign treaties, creating
foreign agreements and accepting foreign ambassadors.
Example: Jefferson practiced unilateral action by acquiring the Louisiana Purchase
without consulting congress.
59. Executive Order- A presidential directive to an executive agency establishing new policies or
indicating how an existing policy is to be carried out. It has the force of law. Presidents have used
these in the past to shape national policy in a large way and they are often used as a method of
bypassing congress in unilateral action.
Example: Truman used an executive order to desegregate the military.
60. Incumbency advantage- The tendency for an incumbent to win a congressional seat over a non-
incumbent. This is important because strong incumbents will often run unopposed because they
have such a strong advantage. By extension the tendency for voters to give higher approval
ratings for their own representatives and senators in congress than for Congress as a whole.
61. Rationales for having committees- Committees are intermediaries that help draft legislation by
deliberating the issues of a bill before it reaches the House or Senate floor. It is impractical to
gather everyone in Congress to deliberate creating each bill. Committees also allow for
specialization, in which one member of congress becomes an expert on certain types of bills.
This is important because Committees reduce transactions costs in congress. Thus they allow for
greater efficiency in government.
62. Speaker of the House- The presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The Speaker is
elected at the beginning of each congressional session on a party-line vote. As head of the
majority party the Speaker has substantial control over the legislative agenda of the House. The
Speaker of the House is the majority partys leader and agent. He is given the authority to appoint
committees, make rules, and manage the legislative process. Speakers enjoy much more authority
when the house is controlled primarily by parties and less authority when committees control it.
Speakers are important because they can help overcome collective action problems in the House.
63. Conditional Party Government- This theory postulates that when a political party is more
ideologically homogeneous and further away from other political parties it is more likely to favor
strong leadership (fewer transaction costs) because most party members will agree with the
direction of the leadership (less risk of conformity costs). By the same token, parties that are
ideologically heterogeneous are more likely to favor decentralized leadership. This is important
because it affects how congress is run.
Example: From 1890-1910 and again from 1980 onward, political parties were
ideologically homogeneous, resulting in a party dominated congress. However from
1910-1980 the political parties were ideologically heterogeneous and committees
dominated congress.
64. Committee Government- When Congress is dominated by strong committees rather than strong
political parties. This was common between 1910 and the 1980s when political parties were
ideologically heterogeneous. This is important because committee government results in a very
different legislative body than Party government.
65. Seniority System- The congressional practice of appointing as committee or subcommittee chairs
the members of the majority with the most years of committee service. This is more common in
the Senate than in the House, although it has been used in both places. This system sometimes
favors particular factions, however it is used largely to keep transaction costs (associated with the
bargaining that might result from an election or appointment) to a minimum,
66. Party Polarization- The recent trend concerning political parties in which parties are becoming
ideologically further apart from one another. Republicans are more red and Democrats more
blue in comparison to one another. This is important because party polarization results in more
gridlock, unilateral action, and the unpopularity of congress.
67. Filibuster- A tactic used in the Senate to halt action on a bill. It involves making long speeches
until the majority retreats. Senators, once holding the floor, have unlimited time to speak unless a
cloture vote is passed by 3/5ths (60) of the members. The increasing use of the filibuster over
time has greatly changed politics in the Senate. In todays politically polarized climate, one needs
at least 60 votes in the Senate in order to pass even moderately polarizing legislation. There was
reform of the filibuster last fall after Republicans aggressively used it to block appointments
(National Labor Relations Board/Consumer Financial Protection Board no appointments; a
kind of nullification). In a party-line vote (52-48), which uses a procudure Harry Reid had
previously called un-American, and eliminates filibuster for presidential appointments (except
SCOTUS).
Example: In 1964 Southern Democrats tried to oppose civil rights legislation by using the
filibuster.
68. Costless Filibuster- This is the new filibuster created by the 1975 change of filibuster rules,
which lessened the number of votes needed for cloture of debate from 2/3
rd
to 3/5
th
. This was
done in order to lessen the cost of the filibuster in the political arena, however it only served to
increase its use in the Senate, by making it a less politically explosive and time-consuming
option.
69. Cloture Rule- A parliamentary procedure used to close debate. Cloture is used in the Senate to
cut off filibusters. Under the current Senate rules, 3/5
th
of senators, or 60, must vote for cloture to
halt a filibuster.
70. Dual principals problem- Often bureaucratic agencies have more than one principle to serve. (i.e.
the president as well as congress) and so they are able to play each principle against one another
in order to gain greater autonomy.
71. Spoils System- A system in which newly elected office-holders award government jobs to
political supporters and members of the same political party, the term originated in the saying to
the victor go the spoils.
72. Pendleton Act, 1883- This act was enacted after president Garfield was assassinated in 1881 by a
job seeker angry at having lost a chance for a patronage appointment. The act was the beginning
of the end of the spoils system. Though it put only 10% of the bureaucracy under the merit
system, presidents that were about to relinquish office to the opposition party often extend civil
service protection to many of his own patronage appointees which increased the amount of
federal workers under the merit system.
73. Merit System- The hiring of government officials based on their ability to perform a job, not their
political connections. Adopted officially in the United States in 1883 as a result of the Pendleton
Civil Service Reform Act, the Merit system was the absolute opposite of the Spoils system,
which rewarded government jobs to unqualified individuals based on their political connections.
The Merit system uses tests and other assessments of aptitude to reward the most qualified
candidates with government jobs. However the merit system has its own drawbacks. While the
spoils system had problems with chronically under experienced and under efficient officials,
these officials were at least very much so in touch with ordinary citizens. Officials in the merit
system inevitably develop their own personal and institutional interests and rules designed to
protect them from political retaliation also make it hard to punish them for incompetence.
Furthermore career bureaucrats become such experts that hidden action problems (where agents
do things that the principles dont know about) and hidden information problems (where agents
know things that the principles do not) are much more likely.
74. Logic of agency design (the US bureaucracy)- Principals who possess decision-making power
may delegate their authority to agents who exercise that authority on behalf of the principal.
Also, principals get their authority through the peoples delegation of power at the polls.
People Principal (Representative) Agent (Bureau)
Political actors in congress may want to shield a newly created agency from outside influence if
they believe that another political party might want to dismantle or change it. They might do this
by creating a very specific mandate for the agency, placing it in a friendly executive department
or giving it independence, and lessening congressional oversight. However they might also want
to closely control an agency that they feel wary about by creating a vague mandate, and imposing
a lot of red tape, and congressional oversight. The president wants all agencies to be centralized,
and efficient in order to strengthen their own power. Different coalitions want different things out
of an agency and attempt to get them through agency design. However they must also
compromise with other coalitions.
75. Police Patrols vs. Fire Alarms- Both are forms of congressional oversight that are used to control
agencies. Police Patrols are the practice of "patrolling" the executive branch looking for problems
in program implementation. It is usually centralized in a legislature in an audit or program review
committee with a staff agency that evaluates the performance of executive agencies. It relies on
formal committee hearings on agency operations and on interim studies and reports on legislative
performance. Police patrol oversight is usually initiated by the legislature and tends to be formal
and systematic. This is potentially risky (they might miss the agency which has serious
violations) and time consuming. Fire Alarms are much preferred by congress because it does not
require direct action. Instead Congress establishes rules, procedures and informal practices within
an agency to enable citizens and organized interest groups to examine administrative decisions
and charge agencies with violating congressional goals. Fire alarm oversight of executive
programs by legislatures occurs when interest groups complain about how programs are
administered, the media expose programmatic waste or abuse, or constituents report problems
with government services that reveal flaws in program design or implementation. It is highly
decentralized, relies on outside actors to "sound an alarm", and is less than systematic
76. Tragedy of the Commons- a situation in which group members overexploit a common resource,
causing its destruction. This is a more specific type of free riding. Preventing tragedy of the
commons is one of governments main roles.
Example: The environment is a common resource, but by polluting it humans are
destroying it.
77. Externalities- Public goods or bads generated as a byproduct of private activity. For example air
pollution is an externality (public bad) because it is, in part, the byproduct of the private activity
of driving a car.