Prof.Mullins.com

ad hominem	Latin for “to the man”. Attacking the presenter of an argument rather than the argument itself.
absolute majority	(50%+1 vote). A term used to compare the least votes a winning candidate may need in a preferential single member voting system compared with that of first- past-the-post systems of other countries where a “majority” may well be less than 50%. Also a concept used in some parliamentary votes where a simple majority of all members present is not enough.
accord	A diplomatic agreement that does not have the same binding force as a treaty.
adjournment	Temporary interruption during a parliamentary session.
adversarial system	The system of law, as exists in the Anglo-American world, where an issue is argued in court by two opposing sides, the prosecutor or plaintiff, and the defense. Opposite to the Inquisitorial system where a judge or panel of judges call evidence and interrogate witnesses, as exists in many European countries.
affirmative action	Legislative programs which aim to create minority equality in employment, university placements, housing and other government beneficial situations even though, most of the time, outright discrimination against so called majorities is not ostensibly advocated.
altruism	The devotion to the interests of others above that of the self. The opposite of egoism.
anarchy	A condition of lawlessness and disorder brought about by the absence of any controlling authority.
autocracy	A form of government where unlimited power is held by one single individual.
autonomy	A limited form of independence where, for example, a state or colony can control its own domestic affairs but has no say over its foreign affairs.
backbencher	A member of Parliament (government or opposition) who is not in a leadership role in their party but merely sits literally on the back bench.
balance of power	The leverage a small party in the legislature possesses, in being able to give, or hold back, voting support to a large, albeit still minority party, to allow it to have a majority on a vote.
ballot	A method of secret voting, normally in a written form.
bellwether	A small entity whose characteristics happen to reflect that of the whole state or nation. The American state of Nevada is a bellwether state for presidential elections in that, with only one exception, it has voted the same as the whole country for a century. The Australian electorate of Eden-Monaro has voted in a government MP at every election since 1972. A bellwether is a ram with a bell attached to indicate to the farmer where the flock is when not in sight.
the Beltway	A term to describe the politically and socially insular community of Washington DC. Derived from Interstate Highway 495 which circumnavigates Washington forming a “belt”. One would be, metaphorical speaking, inside or outside the Beltway. The term is sometimes used in other countries although in Britain the equivalent concept is “the Westminster Bubble”.
bill	The name for proposed legislation entered into the house / houses of parliament to be debated upon for approval. If approved at all stages it then becomes an act and thus law.
bill of attainder	No longer practiced ancient writ or act of Parliament to declare someone guilty of a crime and/or subject to punishment without benefit of trial.
bipartisan	Adjective to describe a situation where the normally opposing political parties come together to agree on an initiative. Technically two parties coming together.
block voting	In multi-member electorates, each voter having the same number of votes as the number of vacant seats (must tick off [say] three names). This has the effect of minimizing the chances of minority candidates winning seats.
boondoggle	A wasteful government financed infrastructure developed at a cost much greater than its value, undertaken for local or political gain.
bourgeois	Marxist term now used to describe middle class professionals living a relatively luxurious life style.
by-law	Not a law but a government rule or regulation. see ‘delegated legislation’.
by-election	A local election held to fill a suddenly vacated (single member voting) seat due to death, resignation etc. see also Casual Vacancy
bicameral / unicameral	Government with either two or one house of legislature. France, Sweden, South Korea and New Zealand all have unicameral governments.
cabinet	The ‘board of directors’ of executive government. Made up of the President / Prime Minister as chairman and each director as a secretary or minister responsible for the relevant government departments such as defense, environment, trade etc.
capitalism	An economic system based on the recognition of private property rights, where prices are dictated by supply and demand, and where the means of production and distribution of goods and services derive from privately owned resources, or capital, operating within an unregulated market.
candidate	A person who stands for election to Parliament. In Australia candidates can be nominated by political parties or stand as independents.
caretaker government	A type of governance where those in power refrain from significant actions such as undertaking major legislative programs or senior judicial or public service appointments, but only maintain necessary normal administrative duties. The reason for this is that power would be in transition due to an election being due or being called suddenly due to the success of a vote of no confidence, or some other situation where legitimate democratic government has to be restored.
caucus	A closed meeting of members of a political party or faction. Also the term for a group of people within an establishment with a common political leaning. In Australia the term is used to describe the parliamentary members of the ALP.
clear and present danger	A concept in American constitutional law to describe a situation where fundamental constitutional principles can be overlooked in exigent circumstances.
client state	A country that is economically or militarily dependent upon another, but not actually controlled politically by the patron state as in the case of a ‘puppet state’.
command economy	As compared to the free market, an economy which is mostly under the command of the government.
common law	The law of the land which comes from neither the statute books nor the constitution but from court law reports. Originally that body of law which was common to all parts of England (not customary or local law) and developed over centuries from the English courts to be adopted and further developed in countries using that system. As compared to democratically maintained law, common law is judge maintained and modified law and is valid unless it conflicts with statute law.
communitarianism	The concept of collective, rather than individual, ownership of all the nation’s assets, as well as the duty by those able, to create and / or manage those assets.
confederalism	A form of federalism where the individual regions that make up the sovereign state exercise a larger degree of autonomy. Often the right to secede and the sole right to raise taxes, the funding of the central government coming from the regions. The pre-Civil War slave states of America united to form the Confederated States of America to maintain states’ rights.
conservative	Often taken as synonymous with right wing with a penchant for censorship and state control to protect against ‘immoral’ personal behavior, but technically an attitude of belief in the established order and suspicious of change.
constituent	A citizen residing in a particular MP’s area or district.
constitution	The set of basic rules by which a country or state is governed. Sometimes includes a Bill of Rights. The ultimate set of laws to which all other laws made by contemporary governments are subservient to. The strength and integrity of a constitution is often reflected by the difficulty it is to be changed.
constitutional referendum	A proposal to alter the Constitution being put to the public vote. In Australia at a referendum the proposed alteration must be approved by a 'double majority': a national majority of voters in the States and Territories; and a majority of voters in a majority of the States.
consumer price index	A measurement of inflation by comparing, at regular intervals, the price (taking weighting into account) of a set of basic consumer goods and services purchased by households.
consumption tax	A tax levied on goods and services such as sales tax, GST, VAT or an excise tax. A tax on the spending of income rather than the earning of it, so as to include people who might otherwise evade income tax such as those in the black economy or successful with tax avoidance schemes.
coup d’ėtat	Sudden and often violent overthrow of a government.
crossing the floor	An MP crossing the floor of Parliament to vote with his/her opposition. An act rarely forgiven in Commonwealth countries but common in the USA.
cumulative voting	A type of block voting but where the voter can choose, from the list of (for example) ten candidates running for four seats, his preferred four, or just two or even one. In such decisions, the selected candidates would get one quarter of a vote each, or half a vote, or where only one candidate received the vote, the whole vote.
dark horse candidate	An unexpected, somewhat unknown candidate with little public exposure who has potential to win an election against established candidates. Term originated by British politician and author, Benjamin Disraeli.
deficit / national debt	The shortfall in any one year of a nation’s income as compared to its expenditure / the total unpaid accumulated debt of the government over time.
deficit spending	Government intentionally spending more money than it takes in.
delegated legislation	a.k.a. enabling legislation. Rules, regulations, by-laws, ordinances etc made by a government official under the authority of a specific act of parliament which sets out the broad purpose of what is desired, but delegates to that official’s office, the authority to create the minutia, the delegated legislation, necessary. Whereas all parliamentary legislation is final and cannot be challenged in court (apart from constitutional inconsistencies) delegated legislation can be challenged in court if it is shown to violate the purpose of the original act.
demagogue	A leader who gains popularity by appealing to prejudice and basic instincts. Considered manipulative and dangerous.
democracy	From the Greek ‘demos’ for the ordinary, common people and ‘kratos’ for power or strength.
devolution	Transfer of powers from the national or central government to state or local government.
direct democracy	Government by the people in fact rather than merely in principle. The citizenry themselves voting on all issues affecting them. Practiced in ancient Greece and (to some degree) in some cantons of Switzerland and the New England states of America. Considered by most to be a highly impractical form of government.
disinformation	Information that is false or misleading deliberately disseminated for strategic gain. a.k.a. black propaganda.
doublespeak	Using language to distort or even reverse the meaning of unpalatable information that has to be given. Allegedly the amalgam of two George Orwell’s creations from his novel 1984, Doublethink and Newspeak.
dynasty	A sequence of hereditary rulers.
dystopia	Alternative to Utopia. Nightmare vision of society beyond that of even a failed, dysfunctional state, where the system is actually planned by those in power, creating, most often, a totalitarian society. Fictional examples are Jack London’s The Iron Heel and George Orwell’s 1984.
elector	Technically, a voter who is successful in helping to get his preferred candidate elected. In practice the name often given by governments to voters in normal elections, or to those who have been appointed to a certain level so as to vote their choice to a higher office. Eg. the American Electoral College to choose the President. Term possibly used to disguise the fact that approximately half of all voters in SMV systems end up electing nobody.
electorate	Geographical areas used as a criterion for political representation. Australia is divided into 150 (federal) voting districts or divisions which are known as electorates. One member is elected from each electorate to the House of Representatives. In Parliament the electorate of Batman will be represented by the Member for Batman who will have the Seat of Batman.
the Enlightenment	a.k.a. the Age of Reason. 18th century epoch of intellectual advancement where “humanity was brought into the light of reason out of the darkness of tradition and prejudice”. Originating in the UK but developing fully in continental countries such as France with thinkers such as Spinoza, Voltaire and Rousseau.
equity law	An auxiliary part of common law where the courts not only have authority to modify existing common law to adapt to modern times, but in fact have the power to create original law, overriding existing common law, in circumstances where it is deemed that without it, “unconscionable” conduct would occur.
the Executive	That part of government which executes the law of the land, as compared to the legislature which creates and maintains the law. The executive comprises public service officials from the Prime Minister/ President down, and is responsible for the daily administration of the state.
exchange rate	The relationship of the values of any two country’s currencies. Any one-off reading is informative when taking into account what each country’s unit of currency will buy in its own domestic market. Also relevant is when the rate changes over time indicating one country’s economy is not doing as well as the other.
ex officio	“by virtue of one’s office”. The power to do something or hold an office by virtue of the fact that one holds an earlier office. The American Vice President is, ex officio, the President of the Senate.
Fabian Society	A movement founded in 1884 by intellectuals Sidney and Beatrice Webb and George Bernard Shaw who believed the only possible way to introduce socialism would be in an incremental way using education and gradual legislative changes. Named after the Roman general Fabius Cunctator (“the delayer”) who possessed the patience to defeat the Carthaginian Hannibal by engaging in a slow war of attrition and harassment.
fascism	An authoritarian and nationalist political ideology that embraces strong leadership, singular collective identity and the will to commit violence or wage war to further the interests of the state. Averse to concepts such as individualism, pluralism, multiculturalism or egalitarianism. The name derives from the collective identity, the league connotation of the Italian fascio, or English faggot, for a bound collection of sticks. The symbol originally used by Mussolini was a ‘fascio’ of sticks bound with that connotation of war, an axe.
federalism	A system under which governmental powers are divided between the central government and the states or provinces all within the same geographical territory. Opposite to a unitary system as exists in the UK, New Zealand and Japan.
fellow traveller	Mid-twentieth century term to describe someone who sympathized with communism but would not go so far as to declare themselves a communist or join the party.
fifth columnist	In a military or political environment, a person who surreptitiously undermines a group or entity from within. Term derived from a Nationalist General during the Spanish Civil War who boasted he had four columns of troops attacking Madrid, together with a fifth column of sympathizes inside the city. The practice of the F.C. is sometimes described as ‘entryism’. The Alec Guinness character in the film Dr Zhivago was a war-time fifth columnist.
filibuster	A form of legislative obstruction by an MP by continuing a parliamentary speech for the mere sake of preventing a vote. As the clerk of parliament will set an agenda calendar allocating certain bills for certain days, if the business of reading, debating and voting on one bill is not completed on its allotted day it may be a considerable period of time before it again comes before the house.
first-past-the-post	Electoral system where the winning candidate needs only the most votes, even if well below a majority. a.k.a. pluralist voting.
franchise	The right to vote.
Friday news dump	a.k.a. ‘take out the trash day’. The practice of governments releasing their unpopular news stories just before the weekend as it is believed few people follow the news on a Saturday. Not only the timing is effective for what the government wants to hide but also the act of lumping together as many stories as possible so as to minimize the effect of each one.
fixed term	Concept to describe the set term of office of representatives (eg US House of Reps is a strict two years) as compared to other democracies like the UK where the House of Commons is a maximum of five years but can be shorter at the discretion of the Prime Minister.
fourth estate	The unofficial political institution and authority comprising the press and other forms of the media. Term comes from the first three estates of the French States-General which were the church, the nobility and the townsmen.
from each according to his ability...	“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”. Slogan not created, but made popular by Karl Marx in a 1875 publication, to highlight a fundamental aspect of communism. Allegedly a response to the capitalist concept of private property.
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.
Machiavellian	Adjective to describe manipulative and cynical political activity where morals and principles have little account. Somewhat unfairly attributed to Renaissance political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli who wrote for an age where government and diplomacy had more life or death consequences.
maiden speech	The first ever speech given by an MP in Parliament and traditionally granted the courtesy of no interjections.
majority preferential	Preferential voting in single member electorates.
malapportionment	Violating the concept of ‘one person one vote’, the existence of electorates of unequal population sizes yet still having the same number of representatives, whereby a partisan political party advantage can very often develop. The practice is still very common in the United Kingdom.
mandate	The alleged command, and thus authority, a winning political party has to institute its pre-election policies because of the fact it had a convincing win.
marginal seat	A S.M.V. electorate where the winning candidate/party only just won the last election and could well lose the next.
means testing	Limiting government benefits, such as a baby bonus or health care, to those below a certain income or accumulated wealth.
mercantilism	A broad, command type, economic doctrine, practiced from the 16th to the 18th centuries, which predicated state power in international affairs as the predominate goal. Policies utilized would be: export subsidies; maintaining a positive balance of payments; developing colonies; forbidding trade to be carried in foreign ships; restricting colonies’ trade to only the mother country; maintaining a large as possible precious metal reserve; limiting domestic consumption such as with sumptuary laws.
mixed economy	An economic system which embraces some aspects of free enterprise together with elements of socialism.
monetarism	The theory that the economy is controlled by raising or lowering the money supply.
monopoly	A situation where there is only one seller of a good or service due to either protection by legislation or the impracticality of other parties to enter the market.
moral relativism	Loosely described as a philosophical concept whereby an act universally identified as immoral in the home country is however excused when observed in another because of the culture or history of that country.
motherhood statement	A ‘feel good’ platitude supporting an uncontroversial cause that few would dare disagree with.
negative rights / positive rights	The right to do, or refrain from, an action or otherwise be free from interference, as compared to the right to gain a specific benefit that would have a monetary value. The right to speak freely / the right to having legal representation supplied when in court. Term derives from the obligation on society for supplying those rights: a positive obligation to supply the cost of a lawyer while there is no (negative) cost to allow someone the right of free association.
NGO	A non-profit non-government organization.
nomination	A prerequisite to standing as a political candidate. Made only after the writ for an election has been issued. A financial deposit (which will be returned on the candidate receiving a reasonable number of votes) must also be lodged.
oligarchy	A form of government where rule is by the few and in their own interest.
ombudsman	A concept, originally Swedish, where parliament appoints a person to act as an official watchdog over bureaucracy on behalf of the public. On its own initiative or from public complaints, the Ombudsman will investigate government officials or departments and report its finding to parliament, whereupon action may be taken. The office of the Ombudsman itself has no power to penalize, although in some jurisdictions the Ombudsman can launch criminal prosecutions.
optional preferential voting	Preferential voting where one has the option to choose only the number of preferences as one wishes.
ordinary vote	As compared with a postal vote, a vote cast at a polling place in the elector's home division on polling day.
the Overton window	Modern concept advanced by political theorist Joseph Overton whereby there is a small window of political acceptable approaches on any given subject at any time and approaches / ideas not within the window would resultantly be considered extreme and politically unsafe for a politician to uphold. Thus most mainstream politicians only choose from policies within the window, or only publicly declare the policies they believe in, if and when the window should move in their direction.
parachute in	The central office of a political party appointing the candidate for a certain electorate at the next election, rather than the usual practice of being appointed by the local branch.
parliamentary privilege	The privilege while (physically) in Parliament that allows an MP to say anything without fear of prosecution for slander. Also Parliament itself has the privilege to summon, cross-examine, judge and punish entities that have deemed to offend against it. In Italy P.P. grants an MP immunity from arrest for criminal charges.
parliamentary government	A system of government where ultimate authority is vested in the legislative body. The cabinet, including the chief executive, is from, appointed by and responsible to, the legislature (the Parliament). Alternative to what is known as a presidential system, where both the legislature and executive are independently appointed by the voters.
party line voting	Despite the fact that MPs in Parliament ‘represent’ the residents of their specific electorates, at voting time they will almost always vote (unless an independent) strictly according to their party’s call, i.e. as directed by their leader rather than according to the wishes of their own constituents.
party list voting	Above the line only proportional representation voting. Voters do not cast preferences but the candidates/parties themselves choose (before the election) the list of preferred other candidates to which their unused votes will go.
perestroika	Term to denote political, bureaucratic or economic restructuring first coined by Mikhail Gorbachev with regards to the former Soviet Union.
platform	The political agenda of a candidate or party.
plebiscite	A public vote to gauge public opinion on an issue (such as conscription) which does not affect the constitution nor is otherwise legally binding.
plebeian / patrician	The two citizen classes of ancient Rome. The allegedly course and crude, ordinary Plebeians and the wealthy, educated and aristocratic ‘born to rule’ Patricians. Both terms used today in a derogatory manner. US President G.H.W. Bush was often described as patrician due to his being born into a wealthy political family, treating political life as a duty rather than as an opportunity for reformist zeal, and allegedly not being in touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans.
plutocracy	Government controlled by or greatly influenced by, the wealthy.
primary election	Mostly occurring in America, an election where the successful candidate wins no actual office but merely becomes eligible to contest the upcoming official election representing a particular party.
prince	Term to denote the son of an hereditary monarch but also that of a non hereditary ruler in his or her own right. Developed from the Latin “princeps” for chief, or most distinguished ruler. Machiavelli’s seminal treatise on political philosophy and how to acquire and maintain power was titled “The Prince”.
political party status	Candidates with a common cause can register at an election as a party, and thus enjoy certain privileges such as ‘above the line’ placement and public funding if attaining a certain percentage of the vote, as long as they can present to officials the names and address of sufficient numbers of supporters. Certain P.P.S. privileges also apply to winning candidates of a party if their numbers reach a certain threshold.
politico	One interested or engaged in politics.
polity	Form or process of civil government; organized society; the state.
poll	A research survey as well as another word for an election.
polling place/booth	Numerous centers set up in each division to take the votes of the local people.
populist democracy	Ultimate democracy not restricted by a constitution or any other reviewing authority to the passage of legislation or executive orders. The alternative to liberal democracy.
populism	Political campaigning orientated towards true democracy (voting for specific benefits, liberties, law and order programs, etc.) rather than representative democracy where one votes for a team of alleged responsible candidates who will, at a measured pace and after due deliberation, institute a program under some general theme (even if specific legislation is mentioned). Populists will promise their agenda despite whatever institutional obstructions may exist, while non-populists will take a more conservative approach respecting the judiciary, the constitution, the bureaucracy and the examples of international approaches to the same issues.
populist politician	Cynically speaking, how a losing candidate describes a winning candidate. Otherwise, a politician who offers the people what they want irrespective of how moral, feasible or practical it is for such promises to be carried out.
pork barrell spending	Politicians arranging big spending government contracts in their own electorates so as to enhance their reputation with their constituents. More prevalent in governments with SMV electoral systems.
positivist / naturalist law	Two opposing branches of legal philosophy, either of which judges use to aid decision making. Naturalist law theory is that law is the ageless law of nature, deduced by the reasoning process of the interpreter or the teachings of God, and should be followed even where it may conflict with duly constituted legislation. Positivist law theory is simply following the democratically instituted law of the land no matter how rational and just it may, or may not, appear to be.
pragmatism	A non-ideological approach to political issues where “the merits of the particular case” may take a higher than normal precedence.
preferential voting	Also known as Choice Voting. Voters do not simply tick off one candidate/party but vote for a number in order of their preference with the intention that at the least, one choice will be elected. In Australia the term is sometimes curiously used as a synonym for single member voting.
pre-poll votes	Voting prior to election day by post or attending a special AEC office. Permitted when the voter would be absent on election day.
presidential system	As opposed to parliamentary government, a constitutional framework where the executive is directly appointed by and responsible to, the people. eg, France, Sth Korea, Philippines & USA.
primary vote	The number of first choice votes that a candidate receives in Preferential voting systems. See also Two Party Preferred
private member’s bill	Proposed legislation introduced not by the government or opposition but by just an individual MP.
proletariat	Term used in Marxist ideology to describe the working class who don’t own property and whose only value is their labor.
property right	The right to use, control, benefit and exclude others from any tangible or intangible object.
proportional representation	A voting system where the whole state is just one electorate and parties win seats in proportion to the total votes they receive in an election. Hybrid systems often exist where the state is divided up into a number of multi-member electorates whereby seats won are approximately proportional to the votes cast.
provisional vote	Votes cast at an election in circumstances where a voter's name cannot be found on the roll or has already been marked off the roll. They are not counted until a careful check of enrolment records has been made.
psephology	Greek for voting with pebbles. The statistical and / or predictive study of elections.
Question Time	One of the tenets of Responsible Government whereby, for a set period of time each sitting day in parliament, government ministers must be answerable to any MP’s questions, even though in practice there is nothing to prevent answers from being evasive.
quota	In proportional representation systems, the percentage or actual number of votes a candidate needs to win one of the seats available. For Australian half-Senate elections it is approximately 14.3%
quota preferential	Preferential voting used in conjunction with proportional representation.
rapprochement	The renewal or establishment of friendly relations between states which were previously hostile towards each other.
realpolitik	The politics of realism. Rather than from principle, a self interested approach to politics either from the standpoint of one’s party or, in international affairs, from one’s country.
recall	Electoral whereby an elected official, including the chief executive, can be recalled from office by the voters if there are sufficient signatures on a petition.
recession	A country’s economic status achieved following two consecutive quarters of a drop in real GNP.
redistribution	In SMV systems the periodical redrawing of electoral boundaries to ensure each electorate conforms to the prerequisites of the electoral laws, such as having equal numbers of voters for that State or Territory.
referendum	A public vote with possibly legally binding consequences.
rent seeker	Someone who attempts to make an income by manipulating the social or political or economic environment to his advantage, in the form of political lobbying, rather than actually creating goods or services himself. The “rent” coming to him is usually from government enforced monopoly privileges, or government grants paid for “services” which the free market might not otherwise see as of any value.
repatriation	The sending back of someone to his country of origin such as an illegal immigrant or prisoner of war.
representative democracy	In modern times what is commonly know as a democracy, even though the people do not directly vote on actual issues and laws but surrender that right to their duly elected representatives.
republic	A form of government where, in word or deed, rule is constrained by institutional frameworks and is not by the selected few. Not an oligarchy but not necessarily a democracy.
responsible government	When government evolved from an independent authoritative monarch in conjunction with a people’s parliament to a subservient monarch together with a prime minister and parliament, it was said that government (the executive in the form of the prime minister and cabinet) became responsible to parliament. Now taken to be synonymous with parliamentary government.
retrospective legislation	a.k.a. ex post facto laws. Laws defining behavior upon which one can be held criminally liable or responsible in civil court or otherwise liable for payment (such as taxation), even when that behavior may have happened before the enactment of said laws. More prevalent in autocracies as it violates the traditional concept of the rule of law, although is known to sometimes happen in democracies.
right wing / left wing	‘on the right’ would be loosely described as a political philosophy which favors conservative, pro-market, attitudes with a preference for (some) individual rights over interventionist government, a strict approach to law and order, and a strong defense force and a sense of nationalism. ‘on the left’ would be, loosely, opposite to the above together with a so called ‘womb to tomb’ approach to social welfare and an internationalist world view. Terms originated in the French Estates General in 1789 when the nobility who favored complacency sat on the King’s right and those who wanted change and amelioration of the peasant’s conditions sat on the left.
RINO / LINO	American acronyms to describe people embracing faux political positions. Republican In Name Only / Liberal In Name Only.
roll	The list of voters eligible to vote at an election.
rule of law	The traditional legal concept, dating back as far as Aristotle, that we live under a set of predetermined rules rather than the arbitrary “wise guidance” of any contemporary judge, King or chief executive. Does not necessarily imply democratic or just rule, but simply stable government where the law is proclaimed, followed, and applied equally to all. Term derived by 19th century British jurist A.C. Dicey. All people are subject equally to the privileges and penalties of the law. The people are ruled by laws and not by individuals. (both the judiciary and the executive are to act only according to law rather than to their own beliefs of what is justice) The law shall be prospective, visible, clear, and relatively stable. Due process must be afforded to all those before the law (following the letter of the law).
safe seat	Where the electorate is filled with supporters of predominately one party and thus is considered safe by that party at election time. a.k.a. blue ribbon seat.
scrutiny	The checking and counting of ballot papers to ascertain the result of an election. Political parties are allowed representatives on such occasions.
separation of powers	Derived by Charles Montesquieu, a traditional concept of liberalism where, for the sake of limiting abuse of power, the three branches of government: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary remain independent. In modern times the best examples are some American states where all branches have tangible power and, because of separate elections, no branch is appointed by nor can be removed by, another branch. Less than perfect examples would be parliamentary systems: the executive directly appointed, and removed, by the legislature, and the judiciary directly appointed by the executive.
shadow cabinet	The ‘would be’ cabinet of the opposition party in Parliament.
single member voting (SMV)	As opposed to proportional representation, the system where only one candidate represents all the citizens of an electorate/ geographical area. Also known as Majoritarian voting when preferences are allowed on the ballot paper.
single transferable vote (STV)	A proportional representation voting system where there is no “above the line” option to vote for a party, but only for individual candidates in preferred order. Thus a party’s winning candidates may not be in the same order as on the party’s “ticket”, and their voters’ preferences may not necessarily go where the party would have liked. However due to the relative complexity of voting and vote counting, invalid ballot papers would be higher and election results would take longer to ascertain.
The Social Contract	An 18th century philosophical concept used to attempt to explain the understanding by which people originally left their solitary, wilderness existence and came together under the auspices of government. Theorist Thomas Hobbes first claimed that the contract entailed each individual surrendering all his rights, save that of life, in exchange for the protection of the Crown. A half century later philosopher John Locke modified that to state that not only life, but certain other fundamental rights, albeit not necessarily democratic, were retained by the people and that they were legitimate in overthrowing any state that violated those rights.
socialism	A method of government in which the means of planning and producing goods and services are controlled by a central government which also seeks to collect the wealth of the nation and distribute it evenly amongst its citizens.
social engineering	The practice certain people believe in whereby it is held that it is not enough that governments create for the citizenry an environment where there is an adequate standard of living together with good health care, minimum crime and basic freedoms. Governments, it is claimed, must also engineer that the beliefs, attitudes and practices of the citizenry conform to what is decreed, at the time, to be socially, physiologically and intellectually healthy.
sortition	An electoral system whereby candidates do not win office by popular choice but by lottery. Popular in ancient Greece but rarely used today even though occasionally advocated by reformists.
speaker	The adjudicator in lower house debates and divisions (votes). An elected MP who does not vote unless there would otherwise be a tie. Always a government MP unless the government has only a bare majority in which case independents are usually chosen. Upper house equivalent is President.
spin	To tell a news story in a certain way so as to turn the emphasis in a politically favorable direction.
sunset clause	A provision or clause inserted in legislation to declare its expiry date. Most legislation does not contain such clauses as the intention is that laws are permanent, at least until subsequent conflicting acts.
supply side economics	The economic theory espousing the concept that when the supply side of the economy (the producers) is taxed less and subject to less regulation it creates more profit and the tax on that increased profit, even at a lower rate, is equivalent to or even surpasses the original tax. Apotheosis of SSE is the flat rate income tax.
swing	How electoral results change between elections. Eg: “There has been a 15% swing towards Labor in this seat since the 2001 election”
swinging voter	Voters who are not loyal to any particular party but swing from one party to another according to the circumstances of the time.
syndicalism	Early twentieth century revolutionary political doctrine whereby the means of production is taken over in a general strike by worker’s unions who then will effectively take over government.
Ta′mmany Hall	19th century headquarters of the American Democratic Party which became notorious for political corruption.
Tea Party	A grass roots American political movement (not a political party) advocating adherence to the Constitution as well as reining in alleged excessive taxing and spending by the government. Term derived by advocates sending tea bags (symbolizing the Boston Tea Party) to congresspersons who had a reputation for supporting large spending bills.
theocracy	Government controlled by the church/priesthood or a proclaimed living god. Examples could be ancient Egypt and modern day Iran.
think tank	A non government, non-profit, research institute of scholars / physical scientists generally dedicated to the advocacy of some broad political, economic or social belief.
totalitarian	A government that wishes to subordinate the individual to the state by controlling not only all political and economic matters, but also by seeking to control the attitudes, values, and beliefs of its population.
transfer value	In preferential voting, proportional representation elections a winning candidate’s surplus votes are transferred to the next available candidate. This is achieved by transferring all of the ballot papers, but at a fraction of their value.
turnout	The percentage of enrolled citizens who actually vote.
two-party-preferred	The final tally for the two more popular candidates/parties of all votes (whether 1st 2nd or 3rd choice etc) in single member Preferential Voting systems.
tyranny of the majority	A concept first coined in the nineteenth century by French writer Alexis de Tocqueville and also embraced by John Stuart Mill, who claimed that even democracies had limitations in that minority rights could be forfeited in the pursuit of popular causes. Possible solutions to such tyranny could be a constitutionally entrenched bill of rights, proportional representation, or a democracy divided up into a federation where peoples of different beliefs and values could gravitate to separate geographical areas that maintained their own distinct laws and practices.
upper house	Often known as the Senate, and in federations as the 'States' House'. Traditionally the smaller but more elitist “house of review” populated by members of the titled, landed, financial or educational aristocracy. With some exceptions (Canada & the UK) candidates ability to join the upper house is now the same as for the lower house and members’ prestige is only higher because, as there are fewer in total, each member has more of a voting influence than in the lower house. Often elected by proportional representation. In both Australia and the United States each state sends the same number of senators (twelve and two respectively) to the federal house irrespective of that state’s population.
useful idiot	Description for people of influence who support a cause they fail to understand the full ramifications of, and end up being exploited by the leaders of that cause. Originally attributed to Lenin (although research has failed to confirm this) in describing western personalities such as H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Paul Robeson and journalist Walter Duranty who visited the USSR during times of famine, were allowed to visit only select areas, and then returned home giving glowing reports of the new “workers’ paradise”.
utilitarianism	Consequentialist philosophy originally espoused by 18th century writer Jeremy Bentham whereby the best policy is that which gives the greatest happiness to the greatest number.
vote of no confidence	In parliamentary systems, where the executive can only exist at the behest of the majority of the legislature, a vote of no confidence (generally by the lower house) would be a death knell for the current administration, and would, unless another coalition of parties could form a majority, precipitate an election.
Westminster	British houses of parliament and name for a system where, amongst other attributes, the executive is divided between an ‘above-politics’ head of state and a chief executive appointed by the legislature, a career rather than politically appointed senior public service, and bicameral parliament.
winner-take-all	Either a non-proportional representation or a non-preferential electoral system as is common in both the UK and the USA.
whip	A party whip is a parliamentary party disciplinary officer who ensures that his/her party members do the right thing such as being in attendance for certain crucial votes. A whip is also the notice sent by the aforesaid to members.
wonk	Someone engrossed in the technicalities of some aspect of public policy.
writ	In electoral terms a writ is a document commanding an electoral officer to hold an election and contains dates for the close of rolls, the close of nominations, the polling day and the return of the writ. The issue of a writ triggers the electoral process.
zeitgeist	German for ‘spirit of the time’. The prevalent beliefs and attitudes of a place / country at any particular period.

Prof. Terrance Mullins