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ch. 1 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| government | formed structures and institutions through which a territory and its people are rules |
| power | the government's authority and ability to get things done |
| policy | decision made by government in pursuit of a goal |
| state | the political unit made up by a group of people that live within a clearly defined territory |
| sovereignty | the supreme power to act within it territory |
| politics | the process by which the government makes and carries out decisions |
| legitimacy | how rulers are seen as right and proper by important segments populations |
| divine right of kings | made the king answerable only to God |
| Social contract theory | holds that the first governments formed as a result of people agreeing among themselves |
| monarchy | a type of government that is headed by one person like a king or queen |
| dictatorship | a system of rule in which one person, a dictator, held ultimate power |
| oligarchy | a small group of people having control of a country |
| republic | a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. |
| unitary system | ultimate authority rests in a single national government |
| liberty | the ability of people to act and think how they want |
| self government | the belief that ordinary people could aspire to rule themselves |
| majority rule | a basic principle of democracy that determine decisions |
| federal system | divides power and territory between the people of states |
| confederal system | when independent states join forces by forming a central government called a confederation |
| Presidential system | distinguished by having a president that is elected |
| parliamentary system | when two branches of a government are combined |
| minority rights | the political rights of minorities |