pols final review

• Why do we need law?

  Stability, Predictability, Security
• precedent


  In law, the use of the past to determine current interpretation and decision making.
• judicial restraint


  encourages judges to act accordingly to precedent
• Activist Judge


  A judge who is said to act as an independent policymaker by creatively interpreting a constitution or statute
• counties


  Geographical subdivisions of state government
• Municipalities


  Political jurisdictions, such as cities, villages, or towns, incorporated under state law to provide governance to defined geographical areas; more compact and more densely populated than counties.
• special districts


  Local governmental units created for a single purpose, such as water distribution
• municipal governments


  -home-rule city vs. general-law city

  -council-manager system

  -Mayor council system

  -commission system
• general city law


  Population under 5,000 with structure and organization limited by state law
• Home-Rule City


  Population over 5,000, can adopt its own charter and structure its government as it sees fit
• Council-Manager System


  An elected city council and a city manager hired by the council. The council makes policy decisions, and the city manager runs day-to-day operations
• Mayor-Council System


  A municipal government consisting of a mayor and a city council
• Commission System


  A municipal government that permits members of the city council to also serve as heads of city departments
• political cultures


  moralistic, traditional, individual
• moralistic culture


  A political subculture that views government as a positive force; one that values the individual but functions for the benefit of the general public.

  
  

  (major cities)
• individualistic culture


  A political subculture that views government as a practical institution that should further private enterprise but intervene minimally in people's lives.

  
  

  (west texas)
• traditional culture


  A political subculture that views government as an institution to maintain the dominant social and religious values.

  
  

  (east texas)
• governmental structures


  unitary, confederate, federal
• unitary system


  political systems in which power is concentrated in a central government
• confederacy


  Political system in which power is concentrated in regional governments
• federalism


  political system in which national and regional governments share powers and are considered independent equals
• theories of democracy


  Elite, Representative, Pluralist, Participatory/ Direct
• elite democracy


  limits the citizens' role to choosing among competing leaders
• Representative Democracy


  representatives acts as agents of the people
• pluralist democracy


  citizen membership in groups is the key to political power
• participatory/ direct democracy


  citizens should actively and directly control all aspects of their lives
• basic ideologies


  Liberalism

  Conservatism

  Libertarianism

  Communitarianism

  fiscal conservatism

  social conservatism
• Liberalism


  believes in the importance of individual freedom, rejection of the older assumptions about government

  
  

  ex: age of enlightenment
• Conservatism


  advocates institutions and traditional practices that have developed organically, emphasizes stability and continuity

  
  

  ex: french revolution
• Libertarianism


  Maximizing individual liberty

  Minimal role for the state

  Anti-Taxation
• Communitarianism


  emphasizes interest of the community as a whole, citizen have right to education, housing, health, etc.
• fiscal conservatism


  Avoids deficit spending

  Decrease in government spending

  Free trade, deregulation, lower taxes
• social conservatism


  The government has a role in enforcing traditional values

  Pro-Life

  Support traditional marriage
• Laissez-faire


  government shouldn't attempt to direct economic activity
• Texas Constitution dated back to

  1876
• Biennial regular sessions


  Regular legislative sessions scheduled by the constitution and held once every two years.
• supremacy clause


  makes the U.S constitution the supreme law, superior to state and local constitutions
• Amendment Chaining


  the need to pass still more amendments in response to earlier amendments
• 10th amendment


  U.S constitution provision that all powers hot delegated to the national government are reserved for the states and the people the basis for states rights argument
• dual federalism (1789-1933)


  The idea that state and federal governments have separate and distinct jurisdictions and responsibilities.