Nation building The use of American resources, including the military, to help create democratic institutions abroad and prevent violence in other countries.

National committee An American political party’s principal organization. This may comprise of party representatives from each state.

National debt The distinction between public expenditure and tax revenue. The national debt has increased significantly in recent years, and both parties are divided over how best to deal with the debt crisis. Republicans (especially those supported by Tea party activists) favor reducing the level of government spending whereas Democrats usually seek to raise taxes (particularly on higher-income earners).

National party convention A gathering held every four years by the political parties in order to formally select their presidential ticket. A policy platform is also agreed upon. It is debatable how significant national party conventions really are. To many Americans, they are little more than a glorified commercial for a presidential candidate. Since the debacle of the Democrat convention in 1968, the trend has been towards bland corporate affairs designed to promote the party brand.

National Security Council (NSC) Within the Executive Office of the President, a committee that advises the president on matters of foreign policy. The body is headed by a NSA, one of the most important figures in our nation’s capital.

National supremacy clause That part of the Constitution which states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. In other words, federal laws take precedent over state laws when the two conflict.

Nationalized election An atypical congressional election in which the re-election rate is relatively low for one party’s House and Senate incumbents and national-level issues exert more influence than usual on House and Senate races. For instance, the ACA (aka Obamacare) played an important role in determining the results of the 2010 mid-terms.

Natural justice A concept based on the principle of natural law which rests on the assumption that those principles required by nature should be applied universally.

Natural rights Also known as “inalienable rights,” the Declaration of Independence defines them as “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Thomas Jefferson was inspired by the wording of John Locke’s argument that life, liberty, health and property were God-given rights that a government should respect in the context of its citizens. Along with other founders, Jefferson believed that upholding these rights should be the government’s central purpose. The colonialists were fighting for rights endowed by God, not those bestowed upon them by the King.

Negative rights Freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sexuality; or freedom from cruel and unusual punishment (the eighth amendment). The concept is based on the notion of negative liberty. In simple terms, negative liberty means the exercise of freedom up until the point at which one’s actions affect the liberty of another. It was once graphically described by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas as “my freedom to move my fist must be limited by the proximity of your chin.”

New Deal coalition A coalition of interests bringing together black people, Catholics, Jews and conservative southerners under the Democrat Party banner. The New Deal was one of the most effective vote-winning coalitions in American history. The New Deal era ran from the 1930s to the 1960s, by which time Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ marked an attempt to revitalize the New Deal coalition first launched by FDR. Some commentators claim the conservative revolution of the 1980s was a reaction to the liberal/federal government overreach of the New Deal. Policies such as affirmative action and busing in particular alienated white voters, instigating a shift in allegiance from the Democrats to the Republicans.

New Democrat A term used to depict centrist political figures within the Democrat Party such as Al Gore, Al From and Bill Clinton. The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and the lesser-known Hamilton Project generate ideas and policies associated with new Democrats. New Democrats seek to reinvent government and end welfare as we know it, although they have been criticized for stealing conservative policies and betraying left-wing principles. In recent years, new Democrats such as Bill Clinton have warned Obama about engaging in class warfare against the rich.

New Jersey Plan In response to the Virginia Plan, smaller states at the Constitutional conventions offered this plan in which each state would receive equal representation in the national legislature, regardless of size.

New Right A political ideology associated with conservative figures such as Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater and George W. Bush alongside theorists such as Irving Kristol, Ayn Rand (2008) and Charles Murray. The New Right greatly influenced economic and welfare policy during the 1980s and 1990s. In terms of academic publications, the National Review carried the torch for such ideas at a time when conservatism was deeply unfashionable.

News cycle The time between the release of information and its publication. The speed of communication has increased rapidly due to technological developments and the growing proliferation of such technology.

Nodes Groups of people who belong to, are candidates of, or work for a political party, but do not necessarily work together or hold similar policy preferences. A successful candidate needs to unite disparate elements of the party in order to launch of effective campaign. All political parties are fundamentally a coalition of interests held together by a certain shared purpose and ideology.

Nominating convention A meeting held by each party every four years at which states’ delegates select the party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees and approve the party platform. The presidential ticket is known in advance of the nominating convention.

Nomination The selection of a particular candidate to run for office in a general election as a representative of his or her political party.

Non-governmental organizations Groups operated by private institutions to promote growth, economic development and other agendas throughout the world.

Normal election A typical congressional election in which the re-election rate is high, and the influences on voting behavior are essentially local.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) An international alliance created to provide security against the Soviet Union during the cold war. Membership of NATO enables the US to avoid unilateral action.

Notice and comment procedure A step in the rule-making process in which proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and made available for debate by the general public. One might argue it facilitates a greater level of democracy.

Nuclear option A procedure which allows the Senate to use a simple majority to end delaying tactics. In 2005, the Republicans threatened to use the nuclear option to end Democrat-led filibusters against judicial nominees appointed by Bush. In response, Democrats threatened to disrupt the work of the Senate. Eventually, a group of fourteen Senators from both sides agreed to oppose both the nuclear option and filibusters of judicial nominees. This compromise broke the stalemate.