Politics 1200 ALL QUIZ ANSWERS

Shura is a practice used by the Iranian supreme leader to.

"consult" with those affected by his decisions

Japan transformed its electoral system in 1994 away from SNTV, which had helped sustain LDP dominance. Now SNTV can be found in...

Afghanistan

What do Schmitter and Karl conclude is the big advantage of democracy

Because democracies involve institutionalized competition, they are more flexible than other regime types and therefore have a better chance at meeting challenges than they do.

In the UK 2010, a rare coalition government formed between...

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats

In the study of political development, modernization theory holds that the more well to do a nation, the more likely it is to sustain:

Democracy

What is the logic behind the resource curse?

Elites with resources don't need to negotiate or develop institutions of revenue extraction, leading to a lack of democracy and weak state capacity

Patriarchal theory is an example of

Elitist theory to explain "who rules"

The difference between empirical theory and normative theory is that:

Empirical theory describes what actually occurs; Normative theory describes what ought to occur

Elite theories argue that

Even in democracies, a small group possesses virtually all power

Doctor Lydia argues that P causes Q. Q is her independent variable.

False

In Sen's view, democracy should be postponed until the basic economic needs of the people in a society are met because democracy simply won't work in a poor country.

False

Which institution is characteristic of liberal democracy in the U.K.?

Freely, fairly elected legislature

We want to generate theory in comparative politics that is

Generalizable

What is one of the disadvantages of Parliamentary democracy?

It can be hard to form governments

What is so unique about Somaliland?

It has internal soveriengty but not external soveriegnty.

Which of the following is an example of horizontal accountability?

Judicial Review

Prof Ted is using which comparative method when he studies the frequency of political protests across nations by choosing countries that are very different in most ways except for his key dependent variable (protest outcomes).

Most different

_________ authority combines personal ties and favors with "father of the nation" type rhetoric.

Neo-patrimonial

Here are the results of an election in Country X: The Free Market Right: 40 The Egalitarian Left: 41 The Humble Center: 19 Under proportional electoral rules, who would win?

Nobody because the top two parties are so close that they would receive the same percentage of the seats as the votes, meaning that there would be a virtual tie between the top two parties

Here are the results of an election in Country X: The Free Market Right: 40.6 The Egalitarian Left: 40.4 The Humble Center: 19 Under majority electoral rules, who would win?

Nobody because there would need to be a runoff between the top two parties

A vote of no confidence may occur in which of the following regime types?

Parliamentary democracy

According to pluralist theory

Power is dispersed among various political actors

Which of the following are a common exception to Duverger's Law?

Regional parties

How was the absolute power of Lenin's vanguard party justified?

Russia was not developed enough for the evolution of communism according to Marx, so Lenin argued that it needed strong leadership to get there.

What kind of regime did Mexico have under the PRI for most of the 20th century?

Semi-authoritarian

Which of the following is arguably the most common type of regime today?

Semi-authoritarian

What is conspicuous conservation?

Showing off how green you are to others

Which country had the first developments towards liberal democracy by restricting its leader?

The United Kingdom (England)

_________________ is a variable that helps explain the development of high state capacity.

The creation of impersonal institutions

Forcing someone to do something they otherwise would not do is an example of

The first dimension of power

Why is gridlock a major issue in presidential democracies such as the US?

These democracies are unique in that they have separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches

What is true of most failed states?

They are former colonies

Which of the following is NOT true of modernizing authoritarian regimes?

They justify their rule with a single legitimizing ideolgy

Quasi-states have low internal sovereignty but some external sovereignty because of international recognition of their borders

True

According to Max Weber's definition, what is different about the use of violence by the sovereign state?

While other forms of violence exist in the state, the state is the only authority that legitimately may use violence.

Sen notes that we have stopped seeing the question of whether ___________________ as relevant, and notes that this is evidence that democracy has become a universal value.

a given country is "ready" for democracy

A "kingmaker" refers to _________.

a small party that can decide which big party forms a government by joining their coalition

By the 15th century in Europe, feudalism was giving way to:

absolutism

Which of the following statements best defines a political actor?

any person or group engaged in political behavior

An advantage of quantitative methods in comparative politics is that they:

are good at showing broad patterns

The "Brazilian Miracle" of rapid economic growth was overseen by a:

bureaucratic authoritarian regime

The best way to view "the people" in most modern states today is as...

citizens

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following are elements of the "minimal definition" of democracy? citizens' guaranteed right of association a government that can be changed through elections a separation of powers among branches of government citizens' guaranteed right of expression

citizens' guaranteed right of association a government that can be changed through elections citizens' guaranteed right of expression

Voters vote for the party in _________ electoral systems and for a candidate(s) drawn from a list in _______ electoral systems.

closed-list proportional, open-list proportional

The modern state spread from Europe to the rest of the world primarily via:

colonial conquest

In Sen's view, democracy has ______________ value because an open, democratic society encourages discussion that allows citizens to work together to form their society's values and priorities.

constructive

Which of the following is NOT a function of political parties? competing for political office/// helping to organize bargaining and lawmaking in the legislature///mobilizing the electorate////defending the constitution

defending the constitution

"Polyarchy" is a political science term for what we call ________ in everyday language.

democracy

In comparative politics, we generally try to make _______ theories about the way things are instead of _________ theories about the way things should be.

empirical ; normative

Which branch of government is necessary for every regime?

executive

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. A good empirical theory should ______. account for all exogenous factors explain what ought to occur explain a pattern allow a theorist to predict

explain a pattern allow a theorist to predict

_________ is an element of Hitler's fascism, but not of totalitarianism more generally.

explicit racism

A state with international recognition but without the capacity to enforce law and order has high internal sovereignty but low external sovereignty.

false

According to Schmitter and Karl, democracy promises both greater economic prosperity and administrative efficiency than other regime types.

false

Electoral democracy is a more complete type of democracy than social democracy, including more rights and accountability.

false

More veto players increases the likelihood of policy change

false

One major advantage of proportional representation is that it "manufactures" majorities and makes it easier to form governments.

false

The concern that parliamentary elections create a "winner take all" scenario is a common criticism of parliamentary democracy.

false

Under plurality rules, parties always receive about the same percentage of seats in the legislature that they received in the popular vote.

false

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following are examples of authoritarian regimes? fascist regime communist regime liberal regime electoral authoritarian

fascist regime communist regime electoral authoritarian

Most countries with a first-past-the-post electoral system are..

former British colonies

Which of the following is an argument that critics make against the SMD system?

generates wasted votes

the ____________ is often a symbolic figure that sits above partisan divides to unite the nation, and also represent it internationally.

head of state

The idea that the state is the sole authority within its territory that can make and enforce laws is best called:

internal sovereignty

The drug cartels of Mexico represent an enormous threat to all aspects of the Mexican state, but the threat to Mexico's ___________ is greatest.

internal soverignty

A smaller party that has the power to determine which major party forms a government by forming a coalition with that party is known as a ___________ .

kingmaker

Judicial review:

may serve to limit majority rule.

No separation of powers exists between executives and legislatures in ___________ systems.

parliamentary

A theory that assumes that widely held values and beliefs help explain political behavior would be best described as

political culture theory

Comparative politics focuses on:

politics within national boundaries.

What rules are incompatible with single-member districts?

proportional

A state's ____________ refers to the basic rules of political interaction in the state; the political "rules of the game" allocating power to different actors and institutions.

regime

What is the most problematic aspect of identifying the causes of state capacity

reverse causation - many of the causes are also effects

Which of these is not absolutely essential to the ideology of liberal democracy?

separation of powers

According to Marshall's typology of rights, ________ rights go beyond citizenship and the right to vote to providing material well-being and dignity to citizens.

social

One prominent theory in comparative politics holds that the number of major political parties in a country is explained by the electoral rules of the country. Therefore, the United States has two parties because of its single-member plurality electoral rules, while Israel has many political parties because of its proportional representation electoral rules. What is this theory's dependent variable?

the number of major political parties in a country

What is the basis of the rule of law in the democracy of the United Kingdom?

the parliament having the final say in all matters

The primary concern of classic liberalism is:

the preservation of individual rights and liberties (freedom)

Quantitative methods are used in comparative politics in order to allow

the study of a large number of cases

What is modernization?

the transformation of poor agrarian societies into wealthy industrial societies

What kind of legitimacy is associated with monarchy?

traditional

Contemporary "liberals" in the United States of America have substantial ideological differences from "classical liberals."

true

In a parliamentary democracy the Head of Government and the Head of State are different people.

true

Presidential democracies typically have higher levels of horizontal accountability than parliamentary democracies because of the separation of powers.

true

Semi-presidential democracy has two executives: a president and PM

true

The UK electoral system is a first-past-the-post plurality system like the US, has a different executive-legislative arrangement.

true

The United States and Germany are both examples of a federal system.

true

Totalitarianism is an exceptionally rare regime type

true

Under first-past-the-post, plurality electoral rules, a candidate does not necessarily need a majority of the vote to win. He simply needs to win more of the vote than any competitor.

true

Weber's definition of the state differs from that of Tilly because the use of violence by the state is monopolized legitimately in Weber's conception

true

one very unique thing about Afghanistan as a failed state is that it was never truly a colony like most other failed states

true

In theory, given first-past-the-post, plurality electoral laws, a _______ party electoral system will emerge.

two

Voters kicking a corrupt politician out of office at election time is an example of __________ accountability.

vertical

An electoral threshold in a proportional representation system refers to the percent of the:

vote a party must receive to gain representation in parliament

The Peace of Westphalia...

was the first international codification of the state as the sovereign political institution