ABSENT

Today we looked at the difference between democracies and authoritarian regimes. We reviewed the factors that indicate the degree of authoritarianism or democracy in states. We looked at different types of authoritarian regimes and the role of different branches in federal types of governments.We then worked through a practice FRQ about democracies and authoritarian regimes.

ABSENT

There are currently 11 sanctuary states in the US. Sanctuary policies are those followed by towns, cities, counties, states, and other jurisdictions that restrict most forms of cooperation with federal immigration authorities. While jurisdictions are not compelled by federal law to participate in federal immigration enforcement activities, federal law prohibits them from actively obstructing enforcement of federal law. In addition, sanctuary policies may violate the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution and the 10th Amendment. Sanctuary policies may place the public at risk by preventing the federal authorities from locating, arresting, and prosecuting criminal aliens. Currently, there are 11 states that have through executive action or passage of a law declared themselves “sanctuary states.” Although not a state, the District of Columbia is also considered a sanctuary jurisdiction. All are part the approximately 600 sanctuary jurisdictions in the U.S., most of which were established after 2000.

Today’s lesson introduced the fundamental components of a political system. We first examined the differences between states and nations. We then focused on how political systems and regimes reflect the dynamic balance of power between the government and its citizens.We then discussed the concept of power and authority. We looked at the differences between government authority and state sovereignty

ABSENT

I gave Nina her lesson plan. She chose to go home and do the assignment on her own.

Political systems: what are the components of a state? States must be sovereign. A state that has sovereignty has independent legal authority over the population in a particular territory. States are political organizations that combine a permanent population with governing institutions to exercise control over a defined territory with international recognition. There are 195 countries in the world - the UN recognizes 193 member states and two non-member states (the Holy See & the States of Palestine). A nation is a group of people with commonalities including race, language, religion, political identity and aspirations. We examined the relationship between states & nations. A government consists of institutions that make public policy.

We looked at what political scientists do, from the methods of analysis they use to understand similarities and differences between states, to using qualitative and quantitative data. How do they use, analyze and compare such data to make comparisons across countries to draw conclusions about politics?

The political culture is the shared political views of an entire culture, including the values, beliefs, and norms that help individuals relate to their government. The means by which we inherit our political culture is known as political socialization. Political values are the beliefs, goals, principles, and policies that a community feels are important. The way that someone views political values, power, and government roles is known as a political ideology (two people from the same country may have different beliefs about the role of government, but they are products of the same political culture). Examples of political values include an emphasis on the individual or society, trust or mistrust in the government, opportunities to get ahead & equality. We looked at different types of political cultures defined by well known political scientists. The formative events theory refers to the long-lasting effects of key events that took place when a country was founded. For example, the American Revolution is a formative event in American history. Other events, like World War I and II and The Watergate Scandal also impacted American political culture.