polscidept

G - L

general election	Either an election that is not local but is for the state or national governments or an election that is the final arbiter after the preliminary ones have been dispensed with. Can be contrasted to council, primary or by-elections.
Georgism	Nineteenth century philosophy created by American economist Henry George which advocated that things found in nature, such as land, always remains property of the state. Government revenue is thus raised by rents on land (at an unimproved rate), minerals and fishing licenses etc to the degree that hopefully no other taxes might need to be enforced.
gerrymander	How a significant number of equally sized single member electorates become populated with both party voters but to different degrees, to have a partisan and unfair effect on the total vote.
glad-handler	An excessively “friendly” person, typically a politician, who greets another effusively but insincerely in an attempt to gain popularity.
glasnost	A policy that commits government to greater accountability and visibility, such as freedom of information laws. Russian for ‘publicness’.
GNP / GDP	Gross National Product is the total output of goods and services annually produced by a country, whether on or off shore. Gross Domestic Product is the total amount produced on shore, whether by local or foreign entities.
going negative	A campaigning style where an election candidate will emphasize the negative attributes of the opponent rather than his/ her own positive ones or plans for future governance. Sometimes a legitimate action if the opponent has serious character or competency issues, but otherwise often used to cover up the fact the candidate has little to offer the electorate in experience, vision or concrete plans.
grandfather clause	An exemption to a new law which accommodates already existing entities (metaphoric grandfathers) not having to comply. Eg: existing buildings not needing restructuring to accommodate new building / environmental codes. A law increasing the drinking age from 18 to 21 but exempting those under 21 who were already entitled to consume alcohol. In 2004 Australian PM John Howard, under political pressure, lowered govt. contributions to MPs superannuation from 15% to the standard 9%. However he exempted already serving MPs, allowing them to remain on the higher rate.
grass roots	The ordinary and common people, often agrarian. Term generally refers to movements / political parties created by them rather than by professionals, elitists or established leaders.
groupthink	An attitude often existing in academia or the media where there is found to be unanimity in approaches to certain issues, either due to laziness in research, or fear of the consequences of going against the prevailing wisdom.
gubernatorial	Adjective of Governor.
habeas corpus	Latin for “you have the body”. A writ, issued by a court upon request, for a government authority to present to court a person it is detaining, and give justification as to why he/she should continue to be detained.
hegemony	Dominance or leadership of one state or social group over another.
hollow men	Conviction free, consensus driven politicians who live by the polls and whose only goal appears to be to achieve and maintain political power. Found in major parties on both sides of the political divide but generally more prevalent with conservative parties. Term derived from the T.S. Eliot poem of that name in reference to the ‘men of straw’ described.
honeymoon period	The first few months of a new government during which the incumbent/s are granted a non-belligerent grace period by their political opposition and the media.
house of representatives	The largest and most influential house of Parliament. Appoints the cabinet and from which the Prime Minister usually comes. Similar to the British House of Commons and known in Australia as the 'People's House' as compared with the Senate being the ‘State’s House’. Each of the 150 members represents approximately 120,000 people or 80,000 voters.
impeachment	The legislative equivalent of a criminal prosecution, where a high government official is subject, by a house of Parliament or Congress, to an investigation, indictment and subsequent trial.
incumbent	The current holder of a seat in the legislature or of an office of authority.
invisible hand	The free market theory of 18th century economist Adam Smith that there is an invisible hand to guarantee, that without government, there will always be a supply to placate demand. “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest.”
isolationism	A policy of isolating one’s country from military alliances or other commitments with all other countries as a best resort to avoiding foreign entanglements. Historically a strong sentiment in the USA. President Woodrow Wilson won a second term in 1916 in promising (falsely) to keep America out of WWI, and the US was conspicuous in not joining the newly formed League of Nations. Prior to WWII aviator Charles Lindberg was prominent in the popular America First Committee which attempted to prevent the US being a participant in that war.
jingoism	A nineteenth and twentieth century term to describe chauvinistic, bellicose expressions of nationalism, especially in warlike pursuits. The term is often associated with US President Teddy Roosevelt.
judicial activism	A judicial philosophy advocating that courts are allowed to take an active role, not supported by existing law, to remedy alleged wrongs in society.
junta	A clique, faction or cabal, often military, taking power after an overthrow of the government. From the Latin ‘juncta’ for join.
Keynesianism	Theories of very influential economist of the twentieth century, John Maynard Keynes, who advocated government taxing and spending to keep control on the economy. In times of recession he advocated high government spending on public works as well as intervention into the economy wherever it was thought necessary.
kitchen cabinet	An informal name for the chief executive’s closest advisers.
Kleptocracy	Cynical term used to describe highly corrupt governments where politicians, bureaucrats and their protected friends engage in sales of government licenses, perquisites and other rorts.
laissez-faire	Fr. for “allow to do”. An economic system with total or near total abstinence of state interference.
Leader of the House	A lower house MP of the ruling party who has been appointed to organize and arrange the various proceedings of that house.
liberalism (small l)	Loosely described as a modern philosophy which favors change for change’s sake, as well as encompassing a compromising and compassionate attitude to personal lifestyle, law and order, foreign affairs and immigration, where policy decisions are often orientated towards those in more straitened circumstances.
liberalism (classic)	A philosophy advocating the rights of the individual as against the state or church as espoused by such eighteenth century English writers as John Locke and J.S. Mill. Causes advocated would be Laissez Faire economics, freedom of speech, the rule of law, extension of the franchise, amelioration in penal practices, and changing views on relations between the sexes and the upbringing of children. In modern times Classic Liberals have become either libertarians or small ‘l’ liberals.
libertarianism	A political philosophy of self reliance, reason and maximum non-interference by the state in matters of both economic and personal affairs. Straddling both left and right, a libertarian would believe in the right to bear arms, access to IVF or hallucinatory drugs for any adult, a free market capitalist economy and the abolition of censorship.
limited government	A right wing concept that espouses the practice that any public service that could reasonably be solely supplied by the market, or harmful action that could be self regulated or otherwise controlled by public censure, should be.
limited war	A war, often not formally declared, fought to obtain specific political / territorial objectives, rather than to obtain the unconditional surrender of the enemy.
lower house	In Australia the House of Representatives or (state wide) the Legislative Assembly. Generally the more populous and influential legislative house.
lobbyist	Someone who acts professionally to serve as a go-between for people or business with a complaint about specific legislation and the relevant government minister/secretary. It is in the interests for politicians to not only keep attuned of the effect of possibly problematic legislation but also to have that communicated in quick and efficient manner by an experienced and knowledgeable operator. The fact that corruption often occurs in the lobbying process does not deny that lobbying is still mostly a legitimate function. Term derived from hotel lobbies where politicians were originally approached by applicants.
logrolling	A practice in American legislatures where two or more members agree to support each other’s bills.

Glossary of Political Science Terms