Tamil Nadu HSE First Year Political Science flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Political Science

The systematic study of the state, government, power, and political behaviour, including institutions, processes, and the authoritative allocation of values in society.

Behaviouralism

An approach that studies political behaviour through observable and measurable data, emphasising empirical methods, value neutrality, and systematic generalisation rather than normative description.

Elements of the State

Population, territory, government, and sovereignty. All four must be present for an entity to qualify as a state under traditional political science.

Social Contract Theory

The view that the state originated from an agreement among individuals to escape the state of nature; associated with Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.

Sovereignty

The supreme and final authority of the state over all persons and associations within its territory, combined with independence from external control.

Rule of Law

Dicey's principle that no one can be punished except for a breach of law established in ordinary courts, that all are equal before the law, and that rights flow from judicial decisions.

Direct Democracy

A form of democracy in which citizens participate directly in decision-making through devices such as referendum, initiative, recall, and plebiscite rather than through representatives.

Federal Government

A system in which a written constitution divides powers between a central government and constituent units, each supreme in its own sphere, with an independent judiciary.

Parliamentary Executive

An executive drawn from the legislature and collectively responsible to it, headed by a Prime Minister who is the real executive while the President is the constitutional head.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to examine laws and executive actions and declare them unconstitutional if they violate the constitution, a feature borrowed from the United States.

Constitution

The fundamental law of a state that establishes its organs of government, distributes powers among them, and defines the relationship between the state and citizens.

Article 368

The provision of the Indian Constitution that lays down the procedure for amendment, requiring a special majority in Parliament and, for some provisions, ratification by half the states.

Article 32

The right to constitutional remedies, empowering the Supreme Court to issue writs for enforcement of Fundamental Rights; Dr. Ambedkar called it the heart and soul of the Constitution.

Directive Principles

Non-justiciable guidelines in Part IV (Articles 36–51) directing the state to promote a welfare state, social justice, and economic democracy through its policies.

Fundamental Duties

Eleven moral obligations of citizens listed in Article 51A, inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, which are non-justiciable but guide civic conduct.

Writ of Mandamus

A court order commanding a public authority or official to perform a legal duty that it has failed or refused to perform.

Article 356

The provision allowing the President to impose President's Rule in a state when the constitutional machinery has failed, on the basis of the Governor's report.

Concurrent List

The list in the Seventh Schedule containing subjects on which both Parliament and state legislatures can make laws, with central law prevailing in case of conflict.

Finance Commission

A constitutional body under Article 280, constituted every five years, that recommends the distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the states.

Election Commission

An independent constitutional body under Article 324 that superintends and conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President.

Pressure Group

An organised group that seeks to influence government policy and public decisions in favour of its members' interests without seeking to form a government itself.

Model Code of Conduct

A set of guidelines enforced by the Election Commission during elections to ensure fair conduct by parties, candidates, and the government in power.

Public Opinion

The aggregate of views, attitudes, and beliefs held by a significant section of the public on matters of public concern and policy.

Propaganda

The deliberate and systematic dissemination of selected information and ideas to influence attitudes, beliefs, or actions, often by slanting or suppressing facts.

Bandwagon Technique

A propaganda device that appeals to the desire to join the winning side, suggesting that everyone is adopting a particular view or course of action.

United Nations

An international organisation founded on 24 October 1945 to maintain peace and security, promote cooperation, and protect human rights; India is a founding member.

Veto Power

The privileged right of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to block any substantive resolution by casting a negative vote.

Panchsheel

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence signed by India and China in 1954, covering mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality, and peaceful coexistence.

Non-Alignment

India's Cold War foreign policy of not joining either military bloc while retaining independence in foreign affairs and promoting peaceful coexistence and decolonisation.

International Court of Justice

The principal judicial organ of the UN, seated at The Hague, which settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to UN organs.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in one person or a small group, acquired and held without free elections or accountability to the people.

Unitary Government

A system in which a single central government holds all constitutional power and may delegate authority to local units that remain subordinate and legally dependent.