COGO Midterm Study Guide
A vote of no confidence would have been staged and James Callaghan would have been removed from office.
"Opposition parties joined in Parliament tonight to introduce a motion . . . that is believed likely to bring down the Labor Party government of Prime Minister James Callaghan and force a national election here by the beginning of May. Callaghan made a desperate attempt to win more time by proposing first to the House of Commons and then to the nation on television this evening that a crucial parliamentary vote on limited home rule for Scotland, which Callaghan was almost certain to lose, be postponed for several weeks to discuss alternatives. . . . Callaghan had been trying to delay the election until October, near the end of the Labor government's full five years in office, because union strife during the winter has left Labor well behind the Conservatives in public opinion polls... The prime minister, who has used a variety of delaying tactics and favors for some of the minority parties to stay in power this long, can count only on the 305 Labor members of Parliament plus a dwindling number of the contested Welsh and "Ulster votes". From The Washington Post. © 1979 The Washington Post. All rights reserved If Mr. Downie's prediction was accurate, which of the following would have been likely to occur?
Mr. Callaghan could have worked closer with members of the Labour Party and minor parties to earn support.
"Opposition parties joined in Parliament tonight to introduce a motion . . . that is believed likely to bring down the Labor Party government of Prime Minister James Callaghan and force a national election here by the beginning of May. Callaghan made a desperate attempt to win more time by proposing first to the House of Commons and then to the nation on television this evening that a crucial parliamentary vote on limited home rule for Scotland, which Callaghan was almost certain to lose, be postponed for several weeks to discuss alternatives. . . . Callaghan had been trying to delay the election until October, near the end of the Labor government's full five years in office, because union strife during the winter has left Labor well behind the Conservatives in public opinion polls... The prime minister, who has used a variety of delaying tactics and favors for some of the minority parties to stay in power this long, can count only on the 305 Labor members of Parliament plus a dwindling number of the contested Welsh and "Ulster votes". From The Washington Post. © 1979 The Washington Post. All rights reserved Which of the following would have been the most effective way to prevent the Callaghan government from falling in a vote of no confidence?
formal relationships exist between the government and recognized interest groups
A corporatist political system is one in which
hold a monopoly over the legitimate means of coercion
A defining characteristic of all states is their power to
a politically defined territory in which the state and national identity coincide
A nation-state is best characterized as
competition among multiple associational groups
A pluralist interest group system is best characterized by
Competition among interest groups over public policy
A pluralist system is characterized by which of the following?
citizens accept the government's right to rule
A political regime is considered to be legitimate when
Mexico, the United Kingdom and China have the highest percentage of women in Parliament
A political scientist investigating the relationship between birth rate and the number of women in Parliament compiles data into the bar graph shown above, which suggests that
the government steps down and a new government must be formed
A successful vote of no confidence in a parliamentary system means that
clerical authority
A theocracy is best described as a political system based on
no constitutional division of powers between the central and regional governments
A unitary system is best defined as one that has
the possibility of alternation of parties in government
All liberal democracies are characterized by
efficient decision making
All of the following are criteria for determining whether a country is a liberal democracy EXCEPT
the development of a multiparty system
An electoral system based on proportional representation is more likely than a system based on single member districts to encourage
elections coupled with restrictions on individual civil liberties
An illiberal democracy would typically be characterized by
Liberal Democrat
Based on the table above, which political party in Great Britain would gain the most seats from a change to proportional representation?
officials who are responsible for the implementation of public policy
Bureaucrats are best described as
It has the potential to elect more reformers to political office.
Candidate screening was part of the revolutionary system from the start. However, in the late 1980s, in the aftermath of the eight-year war and the death of the revolution's charismatic founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Guardians' Council assumed a more stringent scrutiny over aspiring candidates for both the Assembly of Experts and the parliament, or Majlis. In his two terms as president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani strongly supported this shift, in hopes of diminishing the influence of leftist members of parliament who had opposed his efforts to spearhead post-war reconstruction... Source: Emma Borden and Suzanne Maloney, "Iran's Guardians' Council has approved a record-low percentage of candidates." www.brookings.edu, 2016. Which of the following is a potential implication of the "flood the system" strategy discussed by the authors in the passage for Iran's legislative system?
The authors would argue that the role that the Guardian Council plays in the Iranian electoral system prevents elections in Iran from being truly competitive.
Candidate screening was part of the revolutionary system from the start. However, in the late 1980s, in the aftermath of the eight-year war and the death of the revolution's charismatic founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Guardians' Council assumed a more stringent scrutiny over aspiring candidates for both the Assembly of Experts and the parliament, or Majlis. In his two terms as president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani strongly supported this shift, in hopes of diminishing the influence of leftist members of parliament who had opposed his efforts to spearhead post-war reconstruction... Source: Emma Borden and Suzanne Maloney, "Iran's Guardians' Council has approved a record-low percentage of candidates." www.brookings.edu, 2016. Which of the following is an argument that the authors would make about elections in Iran, based on the passage?
The Guardian Council vets all of the candidates seeking political office in Iran to make sure that all candidates have proper qualifications.
Candidate screening was part of the revolutionary system from the start. However, in the late 1980s, in the aftermath of the eight-year war and the death of the revolution's charismatic founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Guardians' Council assumed a more stringent scrutiny over aspiring candidates for both the Assembly of Experts and the parliament, or Majlis. In his two terms as president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani strongly supported this shift, in hopes of diminishing the influence of leftist members of parliament who had opposed his efforts to spearhead post-war reconstruction... Source: Emma Borden and Suzanne Maloney, "Iran's Guardians' Council has approved a record-low percentage of candidates." www.brookings.edu, 2016. Which of the following expresses the role that the Guardian Council plays in Iran's electoral process, according to the passage?
Economic System: Mixed Political System: Authoritarian
China's current economic and political systems can best be described as which of the following?
provide legitimacy to the ruling regime
Citizens of nondemocratic regimes may be allowed to participate in elections in order to
Voluntary associations
Civil societies require which of the following?
crosscutting
Cleavages that split a society into different groups with regard to different issues are referred to as
parliamentary democracies with proportional representation electoral systems
Coalition government is likelier to occur in
less ideological and less class-based
Compared to parties in a proportional-representation system, parties in a single-member-district system are typically
gives third parties a better chance at winning seats in a legislature
Compared with first-past-the-post, a proportional representation electoral system
The decentralization of the national government's power is a political move that would allow the government to be differentiated from the main opposition party.
Delivering our promise of a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly has strengthened the [United Kingdom] not weakened it, and now, having defeated the force of conservatism in granting devolution, let us continue to defeat the separatism, which is just the forces of conservatism by another name. And don't let the forces of conservatism stop devolution in Northern Ireland too. Those who are addicted to violence. Those who confuse any progress with selling out. They shouldn't determine Northern Ireland's future. Walk through Belfast. No armed soldiers. Drive through it. No road blocks Source: Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to the Labour Party Conference, September 28, 1999. Which of the following can be inferred from Tony Blair's statements?
The 2014 referendum on independence for Scotland
Delivering our promise of a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly has strengthened the [United Kingdom] not weakened it, and now, having defeated the force of conservatism in granting devolution, let us continue to defeat the separatism, which is just the forces of conservatism by another name. And don't let the forces of conservatism stop devolution in Northern Ireland too. Those who are addicted to violence. Those who confuse any progress with selling out. They shouldn't determine Northern Ireland's future. Walk through Belfast. No armed soldiers. Drive through it. No road blocks Source: Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to the Labour Party Conference, September 28, 1999. Which of the following later became an example of Tony Blair's reference to "defeat the separatism" referenced in the passage?
separatist parties to have roles in Scotland and Wales
Devolution in the United Kingdom has allowed
postmaterialism
Emphasizing values such as gender equality and environmental protection rather than concern with traditional economic priorities is known as
Monetary policy
In British politics, which of the following has created the most conflict over the European Union?
postpone the enactment of legislation
In Great Britain, the House of Lords has the power to
finance minister
In Great Britain, the title "chancellor of the exchequer" refers to the
senior clerics have authority over the entire community
In Iran, the concept of jurist guardianship states that
appointed by the Supreme Leader
In Iran, the head of the judiciary is
Government revenues are derived from foreign purchases of a particular resource.
In a rentier system, public policy is less responsive to citizens because of which of the following factors?
Liberal Democrats and Scottish Nationalists
In relations with the European Union, the two British parties that have had the most uniformly stable and favorable attitudes are
Prime Minister and cabinet
In the British political system, effective policy- making power rests primarily with the
Great Britain and Nigeria
In which of the following pairs of countries does the press enjoy the greatest freedom?
many interest groups compete to influence government policy
Interest-group pluralism refers to a system in which
Great Britain, because of the power of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU)
National sovereignty is weakened the most by international organizations in which of the following countries?
Oil-rich countries should nationalize oil resources to reduce political influence of foreign governments.
Oil provides rulers with a source of unaccountable power, perhaps the largest such source in the world. Outside of democracies, oil revenues flow to whichever regime or armed group controls the wells by force. These revenues allow leaders to dominate their people through coercion and patronage (as in Iran and Russia) and provide armed groups with the resources to wage civil war (as in Iraq and Yemen). They have also empowered regimes to indoctrinate their populations with intolerant ideologies . . . and to spread those ideologies worldwide. . . . The unaccountable power of oil explains what the political scientist Michael Ross calls "the oil curse." Oil states are 50 percent more likely to be authoritarian than are non-oil states, and between 1980 and 2013, oil-producing autocracies were four times less likely to transition to democracy than their non-oil-producing peers. . . . More than 50 percent of the world's traded oil today comes from authoritarian or failed states... By taking a united, principled, and peaceful stand for the rights [of people to own their own resources in] oil-cursed countries, the West could counter the so-called Western imperialist narrative that extremist organizations have exploited to recruit followers. And such a stance may even encourage elites in oil-cursed countries to seriously pursue constitutional reforms. Source: https://www.foreignaffairs.com Which of the following is an implication of the author's argument for international trade between Western countries and oil-rich countries?
authoritarian regimes can use elections as a source of authority
The vibrant elections and long voter lines across the country in addition to high voter turnout in the presidential election and the high vote cast for the elected person are all clear signs of the success of the Islamic establishment in consolidating and establishing republicanism and the popular nature of this revolutionary establishment, and this is one of the most fundamental and important of numerous capabilities that our beloved Islamic country has, which makes achievement of the lofty goals of the revolution possible and heralds a bright future for the country and nation. Source: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks during endorsement ceremony of Iran's twelfth president, August 5, 2017. Khamenei's remarks are evidence of his belief that
There is some media censorship, but the government allows independent news sources as a way to maintain legitimacy.
Which of the following best explains the status of media freedom in Iran?
It was determined that a permanent legal body be established with jurisdiction to resolve disputes relating to devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Which of the following caused the British government to establish a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 ?
In response to domestic political pressure, Iran implemented gender equity policies for voting and Mexico introduced gender quotas.
Which of the following explains why Iran and Mexico changed voting rules for women?
Progressive Royalists Party
Which of the following is NOT a political party operating in the United Kingdom?
The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty remains intact, which means the Supreme Court has limited powers and cannot overturn parliamentary legislation
Which of the following is a consequence of the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 ?
Russia has more arbitrary rules by the leadership, while Mexico has a defined rule of law
Which of the following is a correct comparison of authoritarian and democratic regimes?
Regimes typically endure from government to government.
Which of the following is a difference between a regime and a government?
Members of the British House of Commons are elected in single-member districts, and members of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies are elected in single-member districts and through proportional representation
Which of the following is a difference between the legislative electoral systems in Mexico and Britain?
Britain supported a power-sharing agreement between Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders in Northern Ireland.
Which of the following is an accurate description of why Great Britain's conflict in Northern Ireland has diminished since 1998 ?
Corruption is a problem in both democratic and authoritarian regimes
Which of the following is an implication of the data for regime type?
Elections
Which of the following is found in illiberal democracies?
They have a highly centralized policy process
Which of the following is generally true about countries with unitary governments?
It mandates that parliamentary elections must occur every five years starting in 2015.
Which of the following is the best description of Great Britain's Fixed-Term Parliaments Act of 2011 ?
State-sanctioned business or civil organizations meant to represent the public
Which of the following is the best example of corporatism?
The transfer of power from Mikhail Gorbachev to Boris Yeltsin
Which of the following is the best example of regime change?
Political actors accept electoral competition, citizen participation, and rule of law.
Which of the following is the best indicator of a successful transition to democracy?
Citizens follow laws because they believe in the government's right to rule.
Which of the following is the best indicator that a political regime is legitimate?
Cabinet members operate more independently of the legislature in a presidential system than in a parliamentary system.
Which of the following is true of a presidential system?
It has an inverse correlation with the use of brute force by the government.
Which of the following is true of the legitimacy of a government?
Greeting new foreign ambassadors
Which of the following is typically a function of the head of state in a parliamentary system?
Economic development became the central concern of the Iranian state.
Which of the following occurred soon after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini?
Increased freedom of the press
Which of the following principles did President Mohammad Khatami put at the center of his domestic agenda in his first term?
Referendum
Which of the following refers to a vote by the public on a particular policy issue?
The middle class in Iran is culturally westernized and often hostile to the clergy.
Which of the following statements is most accurate about the middle class in Iran?
The predominant interpretation of Shari'ah law allows for birth control.
Which of the following statements is true about Iranian domestic policy?
It consists of laws, customs, and conventions.
Which of the following statements pertaining to the British constitution is true?
The majority party in the House of Commons
Who selects the head of the British government?
The government targets and imprisons political opponents
With regard to human rights in Iran, the Iranian government has acted in which of following ways?