Authority: the acknowledged right to make a particular decision

Bargaining: A form of negotiation in which two or more parties who disagree propose exchanges and concessions to find a course of acceptable collective action

Cabinet: The formal group of presidential advisers who head the major departments and agencies of the federal government. Cabinet members are chosen by the president and approved by the Senate.

Coalition: An alliance of unlike-minded individuals or groups to achieve some common purpose such as lobbying, legislating, or campaigning for the election of public officials

Collective action: An action taken by a group of like-minded individuals to achieve a common goal.

Collective goods: Goods that are collectively produced and freely available for anyone’s consumption

Compromise: Settlement in which each side concedes some of its preferences to secure others

Conformity Costs: The difference between what a person ideally would prefer and what the group with which that person makes collective decisions does. Individuals pay conformity costs whenever collective decisions produce policy outcomes that do not best serve their interests.

Constitution: A document outlining the formal rules and institutions of government and the limits placed on its powers

Coordination: The act of organizing a group to achieve a common goal. Coordination remains a prerequisite for effective collective action even after the disincentives to individual participation (that is, prisoner’s dilemma problems) have been solved

Direct Democracy: A system of government in which citizens make policy decisions by voting on legislation themselves rather than by delegating that authority to their representatives.

Free rider Problem: A situation in which individuals can receive the benefits from a collective activity whether or not they helped to pay for it, leaving them with no incentive to contribute

Government: The institutions and procedures through which people are ruled

Initiative: An approach to direct democracy in which a proposal is placed on an election ballot when the requisite number of registered voters have signed petitions

Parliamentary government: A form of government in which the chief executive is chosen by the majority party or by a coalition of parties in the legislature

Politics: The process through which individuals and groups reach agreement on a course of common, or collective, action—even as they disagree on the intended goals of that action

Power: a politician’s actual influence over others whose cooperation she needs to achieve her political goals

Preference: Individuals’ choices, reflecting economic situation, religious values, ethnic identity, or other valued interests

Prisoner’s Dilemma: A situation in which two (or more) actors cannot agree to cooperate for fear that the other will find its interest best served by reneging on an agreement

Private Goods: Benefits and services over which the owner has full control of their use

Privatize: To prevent a common resource from being overexploited by tying the benefit of its consumption to its cost

Public Goods: Goods collectively produced and freely available for anyone’s consumption

Referendum: An approach to direct democracy in which a state legislature proposes a change to the state’s laws or constitution that all the voters subsequently vote on

Regulation: Setting up rules limiting access to a common resource and monitoring and penalizing those who violate them

Representative Government: A political system in which citizens select government officials who, acting as their agents, deliberate and commit the citizenry to a course of collective action

Republic: A form of democracy in which power is vested in elected representatives

Separation of Powers: The distribution of government powers among several political institutions

Tragedy of the Commons: A situation in which group members overexploit a common resource, causing its destruction

Transaction Costs: The costs of doing political business reflected in the time and effort required to compare preferences and negotiate compromises in making collective decisions

Tyranny: A form of government in which the ruling power exploits its authority and permits little popular control