(In alphabetical order)["xlfq'betIk(q)l]:

Abdication ["xbdI'keIS(q)n] is giving up the right to rule. Abdication, relinquishment of office by a sovereign or other ruler. In modern times, sovereigns have abdicated for many different reasons. Queen Christina of Sweden relinquished her crown in 1654 because she was weary of the cares of office. Ill health caused the abdication of Holy Roman emperor Charles V in 1558. Napoleon I was forced to abdicate by allied foreign powers, both in 1814 and, after his return, in 1815. Insurrections often have forced abdications, including those of Richard II of England (1399), Mary, Queen of Scots (1567), Charles X of France (1830), and Nicholas II of Russia (1917).The defeat of the Central Powers in World War I (1914-1918) resulted in a number of abdications, including those of William II of Germany and Charles I of Austria-Hungary. Several more abdications occurred before the onset of World War II in 1939. King Edward VIII of Britain (later duke of Windsor) abdicated in 1936 because the government opposed his marriage plans. In 1940, during World War II, Germany forced King Carol II of Romania to abdicate. King Michael of Romania abdicated in 1947 under the pressure of Romanian Communists. King Faruk I of Egypt had to abdicate in 1952 after a military coup d'etat. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicated in 1980 at the age of 71.

Absolutism ['xbsqlu:tIz(q)m], political system in which total power is vested in a single individual or group of rulers. Absolutism claims unlimited power for rulers as contrasted with the constitutional limitations placed on heads of state in democratic governments. Modern absolutism began with the emergence of European nation-states toward the end of the 1400s. It flourished for more than 200 years. A series of revolutions gradually brought power to parliamentary governments. Other forms of absolutism arose in the 1900s, such as National Socialism in Germany.

Affirmative Action [q'fE:mqtIv 'xkS(q)n], policies used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring and promotion, college admissions, and the awarding of government contracts. Generally, affirmative action has been undertaken by governments, businesses, or educational institutions to remedy the effects of past discrimination against a group. Until the mid-1960s legal barriers prevented blacks and other racial minorities in the United States from entering many jobs and educational institutions. Many universities would not admit women, and employers often would not hire them. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment and laid the groundwork for the subsequent development of affirmative action. The term affirmative action was first used by President Lyndon B. Johnson in a 1965 executive order that declared that federal contractors should "take affirmative action" to ensure that job applicants and employees "are treated without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin". President Richard Nixon was the first to implement federal policies designed to guarantee minority hiring.

The scope and limitations of affirmative action policy have been defined through a series of legislative initiatives and by decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States. To avoid discrimination lawsuits, in the early 1970s public and private employers began to adopt hiring policies designed to recruit more minorities. In later cases the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action, but placed some restrictions on its implementation. Although sharply divided on the issue, the court has struck down a number of affirmative action programs as unfair or too broad in their application. Conservative justices appointed to the court in the 1980s and 1990s have attempted to limit the scope of affirmative action. Congress responded to a number of conservative Supreme Court rulings by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which strengthened antidiscrimination laws. From its beginnings affirmative action has been highly controversial. Critics charge that affirmative action policies violate the principal that all individuals are equal under the law. Advocates of affirmative action respond that effective remedies must exist to aid groups that have suffered from discrimination. In the 1990s affirmative action has been a highly charged legal and political issue. With legislatures, courts, and the public divided over the issue, the status of affirmative action remains uncertain.

African National Congress (ANC) ['xfrIkqn 'nxS(q)nql 'kPngres], South African political organization that won the country's first democratic elections in which the black majority could vote. In 1994 the ANC became South Africa's ruling party under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, who was elected the nation's first black president. The ANC was founded in 1912 as a nonviolent civil rights organization promoting the interests of black Africans. In 1940 ANC president Alfred B. Xuma began recruiting younger, more outspoken members, including Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu. ANC membership greatly increased in the 1950s after South Africa's white-minority government implemented apartheid, a policy of rigid racial segregation. In 1960 the government banned all black political organizations, including the ANC, which began a campaign of sabotage against the government in 1961. During the unrest of the next several years, Mandela and Sisulu were sentenced to life in prison. For the next 30 years the ANC operated as an underground organization. In 1990 the government released Mandela from prison and lifted its ban on the ANC, which evolved into a political party.

Amendment [q'mendmqnt] is a change made in a law, a constitution, or a legislative bill. Amendment, in legislation, the alteration of an existing statute. The Congress of the United States has no power to alter the Constitution of the United States but does have the power to repeal and alter laws. The method of amending the Constitution is described in Article V of that document. In parliamentary procedure an amendment may be added to a motion or bill. In the law of pleading and practice, an amendment corrects an error or defect in a pleading or judicial proceeding.

Amnesty ['xmnqstI] means forgiveness granted by a government.

Anarchism ['xnqkIz(q)m] is a belief that every form of government regulation is wrong and that public governments should be destroyed. Anarchism, political theory that opposes all forms of government. Anarchists believe that the highest attainment of humanity is the freedom of individuals to express themselves, unhindered by any form of external repression or control. One limitation on such freedom, however, is the ban against injuring other human beings. If any human being attempts to injure others, individuals have the right to organize against that person, although only by voluntary cooperation and not under governmental organization.The 19th-century French writer Pierre Joseph Proudhon is regarded as the father of philosophic anarchism, which repudiates violent methods and contends that society will evolve gradually toward anarchic organization. Anarchists who reject Proudhon's theories maintain that the trend of human development is toward achievement by cooperation, and that social cooperation can never be wholly voluntary. Another school, relying on organized action and even terrorist deeds grew out of socialism and appeared toward the end of the 19th century. Since that time socialism and anarchism have diverged sharply. Anarchism declined steadily as both a political philosophy and an organized movement between 1925 and 1950.

Appropriation [q"prqVprI'eIS(q)n], legislative action authorizing the expenditure of public funds for some designated purpose. Through the power to allocate funds, a legislature can influence the course of government. For example, by relying on this "power of the purse," the British Parliament was gradually able to wrest control of the government from the monarch. Although legislatures retain control over appropriations, executive officials are generally granted discretion over expenditure, which can result in sharp clashes between the legislative and executive branches. The Constitution of the United States provides that "no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." The Congress of the United States relies on a two-step appropriation process: authorization of programs as recommended by legislative committees, followed by the financing of those programs by measures approved upon recommendation of the appropriations committees.

Aristocracy ["xrI'stPkrqsI] is a form of government controlled by a few people, usually wealthy members of the nobility. Aristocracy, form of government in which sovereign power is vested in a small number of citizens, as opposed to monarchy, in which the supreme authority is vested in one person, and democracy, in which authority is exercised by the entire body of citizens or their representatives. Athens, before the Persian wars of the 400s BC, and Sparta, during practically its entire history, were aristocracies, as was Rome during the Republic (6th century to 1st century BC). In England the government from 1714 through the 1800s, although parliamentary in form, was an aristocracy, since the monarch and Parliament were under the control of a few families.

Authoritarianism [O:"TPrI'te(q)rIqnIzm] is a form of government in which the governing power is used without the consent of the governed. It is undemocratic, but it is generally not so extreme as totalitarianism.

Authority [O:'TPrItI] is the right and duty to make decisions, and the power to enforce them.

Autocracy [O:'tPkrqsI] is rule by one person who has complete control of all branches of the government.

Autonomy [O:'tPnqmI] means self-government and usually refers to a political unit that is not completely independent. Each state of the United States has some autonomy.

Balance of Power, doctrine of international relations maintaining that aggressive tendencies on the part of a state or an alliance of states can be discouraged by the formation of another alliance of equal or greater strength. Thus, in a system where one party is more powerful than any other single party, peace may be preserved by an alliance of the weaker parties. This doctrine was first clearly enunciated in the 1500s by Italian historian and statesman Francesco Guicciardini, who observed in his History of Italy that the goal of Florentine policy was to prevent the domination of the peninsula by any single Italian state.

In the 1500s and early 1600s the struggle to retain the balance of power in Europe focused on avoiding dominance first by the Habsburg dynasty and later by King Louis XIV of France, who eventually provoked an alliance involving most of the rest of Europe. During the American Revolution (1775-1783) Great Britain was challenged by an alliance of France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the rebelling American colonies. Revolutionary France and French Emperor Napoleon I forced the states of Europe into a series of alliances that took 20 years to restore a balance of power.

German Unification and Italian Unification led to a realignment of powers in the late 1800s and early 1900s that ultimately resulted in World War I (1914-1918). The alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan was broken during World War II (1939-1945) by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Britain, the United States, and a host of other nations. The development of nuclear arsenals in the 1950s and 1960s led to a condition known as the balance of terror, in which the decisive deterrent to war between the United States and the USSR was the enormous destruction a nuclear conflict could wreak on both sides.

Ballot, in modern usage, sheet of paper used in voting, usually in an electoral system that allows the voter to make choices secretly. The term also designates voting by means of a mechanical device. The ballot method protects voters from coercion and reprisal. Wherever the practice of deciding questions by free vote has prevailed, some form of secret voting has always been found necessary.

In ancient Greece members of high courts voted secretly and legislation enacted in Rome in 139 BC established a system of secret voting. Colored balls were used as ballots during the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century). Each voter received two balls–one white, indicating acceptance, and the other black, indicating rejection–and deposited them secretly in appropriate receptacles. With the development of modern democracy the practice of voting secretly in legislative assemblies responsible to the people was generally abandoned. In Great Britain the Ballot Act of 1872 provided for secret voting in parliamentary elections. Similar legislation had been previously adopted in France (1852) and Italy (1859).

Following the American Revolution (1775-1783), the secret ballot was adopted in most of the United States. Development of the political party system resulted in abuses of the ballot system during the first half of the 1800s. In the late 1800s states gradually adopted a system that included the preparation, printing, and distribution of the ballot by government agencies; the use of a ballot listing the names and party designations of all candidates for all offices; and secret voting under government supervision.

By 1967 most states had adopted the office-column type of listing, in which the names are arranged under the office sought, with the party label appearing after the name. Some states, counties, and cities provide ballots with space for write-in votes for candidates not listed. Various methods have been devised for the nomination of candidates to ensure that only the names of authorized office seekers appear on the ballot. Many states and localities require the filing of a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters before the name can appear on the ballot. Mechanical voting devices began to be adopted in parts of the United States after 1892.

Bicameral System [baI'kxm(q)rql], legislative system in which the power of making law is vested in two chambers, or houses, both of which must approve a bill before it becomes law. In general, members of the upper house represent states or other political subdivisions rather than the people directly, and usually serve for longer terms than the members of the lower house. The lower house is generally composed of members selected on the basis of population, each member representing an equal number of citizens.

Bill, proposed law placed before a legislative body for examination, debate, and enactment. Once enacted, a bill becomes a law. In the United States government, a bill must be introduced by a member of the Congress of the United States. It is then assigned to a committee, where it is reviewed. A bill approved by committee is generally debated on the floor. If the bill receives a favorable majority vote, it is sent to the other house of Congress, where a similar procedure takes place. The president may approve or veto the bill. A veto ['vi:tqV] may be overridden(скасовано) by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

Bill of Rights is a document that describes the basic liberties of the people and forbids the government to violate those rights. The U.S. Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.

Bipartisanship, in the United States, the attempt of political leaders to obtain maximum unity from members of both parties on matters of foreign policy. It is generally considered desirable to have some measure of cooperation between the Democratic and Republican parties on international programs. To achieve this, the president consults with both parties before acting on major global problems. An important provision of bipartisanship is that neither party attempts to take advantage of diplomatic problems or defeats.

Bolshevism ['bPlSqvIz(q)m], Communist doctrine based on the theories of German revolutionary Karl Marx as formulated by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. These theories were outlined at the second congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party of 1903.

The congress crystallized into two factions, the more radical faction being led by Lenin. He advocated a unified party of active, professional revolutionary members, willing to use any means to establish a Communist society. His opponents proposed to admit all who declared general sympathy with the aims of the party. After the congress elected Lenin to the party leadership, his faction became known as Bolshevik (from the Russian word for "majority"), and the opposition became known as Menshevik (from the Russian word for "minority"). In subsequent years the Mensheviks emphasized reform, especially the establishment of constitutional government. When a parliament, called the Duma, was created in 1905, the Bolsheviks preferred either to boycott it or to use it as a forum for agitation, whereas the Mensheviks hoped to use it to build opposition to the tsar.

After 1912 the two parties competed for the leadership of the anticzarist revolution. In 1917 a revolution broke out, resulting in the tsar's abdication and the introduction of parliamentary government. The Bolsheviks overthrew the parliamentary government later that year, and eventually decreed themselves the sole political organization in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Bureaucracy ["bjV(q)'rPkrqsI] is the system of officials who carry out the functions of a government. Synonyms: red tape, officialdom, beadledom . Bureaucracy, personnel and administrative structure of an organization. Business, labor, religious, educational, and governmental systems depend on a large workforce arranged in a hierarchy to carry out specialized tasks based on internal rules and procedures. The term is used mostly in referring to government administration. The United States federal bureaucracy is the result of almost two centuries of adjustments and compromises.

During the early days executives were recruited mainly from an educated class interested in a long-term career in government. Beginning in the 1820 jobs began to be allocated to political supporters of the party in power. The Pendleton Act of 1883 created a competitive civil service, dedicated to professionalism and nonpartisanship. In the 20th century the civil service was criticized for being insufficiently responsive to the Congress of the United States and the president. In 1978 Congress passed the Civil Service Reform Act, bringing the civil service under closer control of the president.

Cabinet ['kxb(I)nIt] is a group of advisers, including the heads of major government departments and other high officials.Cabinet (government), name applied to the collective body of advisers to the executive head of a parliamentary government. The composition and functions of the Cabinet vary in different countries.

The Cabinet originated early in the 15th century as a council advising the king of England. In the 18th century, when the center of governmental power shifted from the monarch to the British Parliament, the Cabinet became the council of the most important minister in the government, the prime minister. Since about 1780 most British Cabinet ministers also have been department heads. In the United States the Cabinet consists of the president's advisers, each of whom is a department head. The cabinets of Latin America usually follow the U.S. model, whereas most European countries and Canada have adopted the British model.

The principal characteristics of European cabinets are the responsibility of the cabinet to the legislature and the identification of the cabinet with the government. The cabinet is formed by the prime minister, and together they administer the country as long as they have the confidence of the legislature. A cabinet of the British type typically consists of members of the party that has a decisive majority in the legislature, although cabinets are sometimes formed by parties that together control a majority. In the British government, Cabinet members are members of Parliament, usually of the same political party as the prime minister.

The Cabinet of the U.S. government consists of the administrative heads of the executive departments of the federal government. Cabinet members are appointed by the president with the approval of the United States Senate and may be removed by the president either at will or as a result of censure or impeachment by the Congress of the United States. The cabinet as a governmental institution is not provided for in the Constitution of the United States. It developed as an advisory body out of the president's need for consultation on matters of federal policy and on problems of administration. Unlike their counterparts in other countries, Cabinet officers have no direct legislative function. In 1886 Congress enacted legislation establishing the order of succession of Cabinet officers to the presidency. The secretary of state headed the list. In 1947 Congress modified the act of 1886, placing the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate, in that order, before any Cabinet members.

Capitalism is an economic system in which individuals or private businesses own most of a nation's means of producing goods and services. Capitalism, economic system in which firms carry on the production and exchange of goods and services through a complex network of prices and markets. Capitalism has certain key characteristics. First, basic production facilities–land and capital–are privately owned. Second, economic activity is organized and coordinated through the interaction of buyers and sellers (or producers) in markets. Third, owners of land and capital as well as the workers they employ are free to pursue their own self-interests in seeking maximum gain from the use of their resources and labor in production. Consumers are free to spend their incomes in ways that they believe will yield the greatest satisfaction. This principle reflects the idea that under capitalism, producers will be forced by competition to use their resources in ways that will best satisfy the wants of consumers. Fourth, a minimum of government supervision is required; if competition is present, economic activity will be self-regulating.