Power, accountability and social change

C2 · 100 entries · Five themes

Power, accountability and social change

Created by , British English teacher.

Open a theme, then select a word or phrase for its meaning and an example.

1. Governance and legitimacy (20 entries)
  1. legitimacy deficit
  2. procedural legitimacy
  3. contestation
  4. institutional capture
  5. public acquiescence
  6. political calculus
  7. obfuscation
  8. relegate
  9. popular sovereignty
  10. parasitic
  11. asymmetrical dependence
  12. oust
  13. political expediency
  14. depose
  15. a de jure entitlement
  16. devolve
  17. distributional consequence
  18. a conscience vote
  19. reappoint
  20. decentralise
2. Public scrutiny (20 entries)
  1. hold office in trust
  2. the scope of a review
  3. recuse oneself from a decision
  4. an apparent conflict of interest
  5. a culture of impunity
  6. an oversight body
  7. be answerable for one's conduct
  8. a revolving-door appointment
  9. lay a report before parliament
  10. a finding of maladministration
  11. give an undertaking to parliament
  12. a register of interests
  13. an arm's-length body
  14. pecuniary interest
  15. abuse of process
  16. fall on one's sword
  17. procedural impropriety
  18. regulatory capture
  19. an independent ombudsman
  20. redact identifying details
3. Social inequality and access (20 entries)
  1. get the short end of the stick
  2. climb the greasy pole
  3. have a head start on
  4. get a foot on the ladder
  5. give someone a fighting chance
  6. disparity of access
  7. tip the scales against someone
  8. give someone a fair crack of the whip
  9. be left high and dry
  10. inequality
  11. stack the odds against someone
  12. give someone a head start
  13. skew the playing field
  14. pull up the ladder behind oneself
  15. a redistribution of opportunity
  16. proximity
  17. the odds are stacked in someone's favour
  18. draw the short straw
  19. level the playing field
  20. play second fiddle to someone
4. Power behind the scenes (20 entries)
  1. hierarchy
  2. hold sway over
  3. move in influential circles
  4. the powers that be
  5. carry clout
  6. carry weight in the corridors of power
  7. behind closed doors
  8. secure someone's good offices
  9. stack the odds against
  10. pull the rug out from under someone
  11. a fait accompli
  12. use one's good offices
  13. political patronage
  14. vest authority in
  15. pull strings
  16. be in the know
  17. wield clout
  18. put someone out to grass
  19. pay court to
  20. forestall
5. Public opinion and contested language (20 entries)
  1. move the debate on
  2. manufacture a controversy
  3. advocate
  4. amplify a grievance
  5. shape the terms of debate
  6. draw a false parallel
  7. speak on background
  8. drive the narrative
  9. run a rebuttal
  10. issue a qualified denial
  11. cherry-pick evidence
  12. manufacture consent
  13. retract an allegation
  14. bury bad news
  15. go on the record
  16. spin a story
  17. play down an anomaly
  18. give undue prominence to
  19. publish a correction
  20. publish a minority report