Political Institutions and Processes

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Examines the political structures, actors, and dynamics that shape policy-making at national, state, and local levels, including legislatures, courts, interest groups, and media.

Government Systems: This topic covers the different types of government systems such as democracy, autocracy, oligarchy, and theocracy. It also includes the various branches of government and the separation of powers.
Political Participation: This topic covers the ways in which citizens participate in politics including voting, protests, interest groups, and social media.
Public Policy Analysis: This topic involves the analysis of government policies and the evaluation of their effectiveness. It includes policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation.
Political Parties: This topic covers the different political parties and ideologies such as conservatism, liberalism, socialism, and nationalism. It also includes the process of political party formation and the role of political parties in democracy.
Elections: This topic covers the different types of elections such as national, state, and local, as well as the rules and regulations governing elections, voter behavior, and campaign financing.
Interest Groups: This topic covers the various types of interest groups such as labor unions, business associations, and environmental groups. It also includes the role of interest groups in shaping public policy.
Lobbying: This topic involves the efforts of interest groups to influence policy decisions by lawmakers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. It includes the tactics used by lobbyists and the impact of lobbying on public policy.
Media and Politics: This topic covers the relationship between the media and politics, including the role of the media in shaping public opinion and the impact of media coverage on political campaigns.
International Politics: This topic covers the different approaches to international relations such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism. It also includes the role of international organizations such as the United Nations and the role of diplomacy in international politics.
Political Economy: This topic covers the relationship between politics and the economy. It includes the various economic systems such as capitalism, socialism, and communism, as well as the impact of public policies on the economy.
Executive Branch: The branch of government responsible for enforcing laws and carrying out public policies. This often includes the President or Prime Minister, their cabinet and departments.
Legislature: The branch of government responsible for making laws, usually consisting of two houses (Senate and House of Representatives or House of Commons).
Judiciary: The branch of government responsible for interpreting laws and resolving legal disputes through the court system.
Interest Groups: Groups that attempt to influence public policies by pressuring legislators, government agencies or other branches to support or oppose certain policies.
Lobbying: The process of attempting to influence government policy through direct or indirect communication with government officials.
Campaigning: The process of trying to convince voters to vote for a particular candidate or policy position.
Electoral Systems: The methods used to elect politicians and allocate political power, ranging from first-past-the-post systems to proportional representation.
Political Parties: Organizations dedicated to promoting their political platforms and electing candidates who share their goals.
Bureaucracy: The body of government officials responsible for implementing and administering public policies.
Public Opinion: The views and beliefs of the general public on various political issues and policies, which can be influenced by the media, interest groups, or other factors.
Public Goods: Goods and services that are provided by the government and are available to all citizens without exclusion or discrimination.
Public Choice Theory: The theory that explores the behavior of voters, politicians, and other actors in the political process in order to better understand how public policies are made.
Public Management: The process of managing government resources, activities, and services in an efficient and effective manner.
Public Policy Analysis: The study of how public policies are formulated, implemented, and evaluated, often drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives and methods.
Regulation: The process of setting rules and standards for particular industries, activities, or social behaviors, often undertaken by government agencies.
National Security: The branch of government responsible for protecting the country from external threats, which may include the military, intelligence agencies, and other organizations.
Quote: "In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state."
Quote: "It defines the process for making official government decisions."
Quote: "It usually comprises the governmental legal and economic system, social and cultural system, and other state and government specific systems."
Quote: "However, this is a very simplified view of a much more complex system of categories involving the questions of who should have authority and what the government influence on its people and economy should be."
Quote: "The main types of political systems recognized are democracies, totalitarian regimes and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes."
Quote: "Modern classification system also include monarchies as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system of the main three."