Intro to Political Science Mid term pt.2

What role did the Magna Carta play in the creation of the US Constitution?

The Magna Carta was used as an example of how to protect individual liberties and create separate powers for different branches of government.

f the following, which is the best example of a special interest group?

The National Farmers Organization (NFO)

Francis Bacon wrote which important book describing the possibility of a utopian society?

The New Atlantis

What is the birthplace of the modern representative democracy?

The United States

Why has the House of Lords declined in authority over time?

The aristocratic nature of the House of Lords became inconsistent with a democratic Great Britain.

What is behavioral engineering?

The careful use of rewards and punishments to create the desired behavior

Why were some of the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention supporters of the anti-federalist style of government?

The delegates were worried that too strong of a centralized government would undermine the will of the people.

Which statement is most likely to be supported by an American liberal Democrat?

The nation and society have a duty to care for the poor and less fortunate.

How did Lenin's Bolshevik Party differ from most previous revolutionary organizations?

The party was small and limited to only the most dedicated adherents.

What were the principle goals of the Nazi education policy?

The policy sought to ensure ideological indoctrination and loyalty to the regime.

On what criteria would authoritarian states outperform democratic states?

The simplicity of decision making

What was the significance of the Camp David Accords?

They established peace between Egypt and Israel and affirmed the right of Israel to exist.

The U.S. president is commander-in-chief of the military but needs approval from the Senate to sign treaties. This shows the __________ in the United States.

operation of checks and balances

The British government is what kind of political system?

parliamentary

What is the most important factor in determining how voters choose to vote?

party identification

In capitalism, who owns the means of economic production?

Private individuals and groups

What is the fundamental difference between propaganda and news?

Propaganda is motivated by an ideological cause, whereas news is motivated by a desire to inform.

Why are political purges a common step in the rise of totalitarian governments?

Purges allow leaders to eliminate rivals within the ruling group.

In the 2016 election, which of the following were more likely to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Residents of cities with over 50,000 people

According to Marxism, what is the only way that capitalism will be overthrown?

Revolution

In Francis Bacon's work, how does a utopian society come about?

Scientific innovation

What ideology has been of major importance in Europe for many years, but of minor importance in the United States?

Socialist

Prior to the early 1990s, why was South Africa generally NOT considered a democratic nation?

South Africa operated a system of apartheid.

Which of the following is most likely to be supported by an American conservative Republican?

Strong national defense

Which of the following is a socialist most likely to oppose?

Subsidies to corporations

Despite both being communist revolutions, how did the Chinese Revolution differ from the Russian Revolution?

The Chinese Revolution was a mass revolution of largely rural people, whereas the Russian Revolution was a smaller, largely urban uprising.

What was the purpose of the "reserved powers" Amendment, or Tenth Amendment, to the American Constitution?

All powers not explicitly granted to the federal government in the Constitution were intended to remain with the states.

Which of the following best describes a coup d'état?

An attempted seizure of governmental power by an alternate power group

Which of the following best describes the modern Chinese economic system?

A combination of a Soviet-style command economy and a Western market economy

Theocracies are notable due to what characteristic?

A lack of any separation of church and state

Which of the following is a key element of a scientific poll?

A random sample of people to be questioned

An autocracy is a form of an authoritarian state with what kind of leadership?

A single ruler

After the political reforms that started the Fifth Republic, France had the potential of a divided executive. What is meant by this term?

A situation where the prime minister and the president are of different parties or ideologies

An oligarchy is a form of an authoritarian state with what kind of leadership?

A small group of economic elites

What is a parliamentary system of government?

A system of government where parliament is led by a prime minister, who is the head of the government

When the Shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979, what type of government replaced him?

A theocratic autocracy

Which of the following best describes a utopian society?

A visionary society representing perfect political and social order

What is the definition of a direct democracy?

All eligible voters are involved in the governing process.

In what major way do authoritarian regimes differ from totalitarian regimes?

Authoritarian regimes are generally uninterested in the actions of the public except for their political actions, whereas totalitarian regimes seek to regulate all types of actions.

Until relatively recently, which kind of state has been the most common in the world?

Authoritarian states

Which academic discipline motivated the utopian work of B. F. Skinner?

Behavioral psychology

despite its official political ideology, the People's Republic of China follows which economic ideology?

Capitalism

Holders of which of the following ideologies are more likely to view the public good as the maintenance of traditional moral standards?

Conservatives

Of the following, which is a Latin American country in which democratic government has been long established, with authoritarian government relatively rare?

Costa Rica

Which of the following is a key characteristic of dystopian novels?

Dystopian novels generally present failed attempts at model societies.

The Velvet Revolution refers to the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

False

What three groups make up the society described in Plato's Republic?

Farmers and artisans, warriors, and philosopher-guardians

Which of the following could be described as totalitarian?

Fascism

Which of the following is NOT one of William Hudson's four models of democracy?

Federalist democracy

What is a belief that American liberals and conservatives tend to share?

Freedom of speech should be upheld

Under the Nazi government, what was the name of the secret police used to identify and punish opponents of the regime?

Gestapo

What is "the public good"?

Goals that benefit society as a whole rather than individuals

Which Russian leader is given much of the credit for the opening of relations between the Soviet bloc and the Western countries?

Gorbachev

Why is gridlock, or the lack of any major legislation passing through a government split between the two major political parties, so prevalent in the modern American government?

Gridlock in the US government is caused by the two major political parties having near equal influence, with each having the ability to block legislation from the other party.

Which statement explains how economics have transformed authoritarian regimes in recent decades?

Growing economies have spurred democratic transitions.

Which of the following is the Mexican political party that dominated politics from the Mexican Revolution to 2000?

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

Why is eugenics often a component of utopian ideas?

It removes negatively perceived characteristics from the population.

Which philosopher's work influences both American conservatives and liberals?

John Locke

Which concept is most strongly advocated by Adam Smith?

Laissez-faire capitalism

How did Lenin use "salami tactics" to control the legislature after the revolution?

Lenin divided his opponents into small groups that could be easily turned against one another.

Which of the following is the main goal of authoritarian states?

Maintaining a power monopoly

Despite the lack of political freedoms, in what way might authoritarian regimes be positive for the people?

Maintaining law and order

Rectification was the particular focus of which totalitarian leader?

Mao Zedong

How did Marx differ from Bacon and Plato in describing his utopian ideals?

Marx was more explicit in his criticism of the status quo and less clear in his description of his utopian society.

"Dark money" refers to:

Money in politics that cannot be traced back to the contributing source

Which of the following is NOT a dystopian novel?

New Atlantis

What class of officials ran the Soviet Union?

Nomenklatura

What is the last Soviet-style totalitarian state in existence today?

North Korea

What is the last truly Stalinist regime left in the world?

North Korea

Which country is NOT a present-day example of an authoritarian regime?

Norway

Modern autocrats often rely on what in order to gain legitimacy?

Personal charisma

Which statement explains why democracies tend to fail in poor countries?

Poor countries tend to lack a vibrant middle class, education levels are low, pluralism functions poorly, and people have yet to be shaped by markets that normalize behavior.

Of the following, which describes South Korea's economic performance since World War II?

Poverty to prosperity

The chancellor in Germany is most similar to what position in other parliamentary democracies?

Prime minister

What is the goal of the welfare state?

To alleviate poverty and inequality by redistributing wealth

What is the purpose of checks and balances within a government structure?

To ensure that no single branch of government abuses power over other branches

What role does the rule of law play in a democracy?

To ensure the safety and protection of its citizens in a just and impartial manner

What did proponents cite as the intended purpose of nullification in American government?

To give the states the ability to ignore any federal law that went against their wishes

A system of government where every aspect of society is tightly controlled by the ruling elite is known as what?

Totalitarian

Following World War II, authoritarian regimes, like military dictatorships, were common in all of the following parts of the world EXCEPT which of the following?

Western Europe

Which of these are features of an all-encompassing ideology?

an official theory of history and economics, a portrayal of the world in black-and-white terms, and claims of a perfect society

What vital need do peer groups satisfy?

approval

In the 2016 election, members of which religious groups favored Donald Trump?

catholics and protestants

A written document outlining the structure of a political system is a __________.

constitution

_______ Defeats Truman" was the infamously flawed headline on November 3, 1948 for the Chicago Daily Tribune after the presidential election.

dewey

A state that is able to control and tax its entire territory would be considered __________.

effective

The noble lie is essential to Plato's concept of the just city because it unifies the public by banning all opposition to the regime.

false

n the United States, the separation of powers gives Congress both legislative and judicial authority.

false

Where does political socialization begin?

family

What term is used for the differences in political opinion and voting patterns between men and women?

gender gap

What policies are American libertarians most likely to support?

small government

The term "judicial activism" refers to a court's tendency to __________.

strike down laws

In the modern era in Great Britain, which chamber of parliament is considered supreme?

the House of Commons

Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini would both be considered examples of right-wing totalitarianism.

true

In failed states, territory is vulnerable to attack or capture, and rule of law and governance cease to function.

true

Petrostates are not generally ready for democracy.

true

Sedition is heavy criticism of the government or officials aimed at producing discontent or rebellion.

true

Skinner believed that behavioral engineering is effective at changing behavior because altering stimuli changes underlying desire to behave in certain ways.

true

Taiwan lost its seat in the United Nations to the People's Republic of China and was "derecognized" as the legitimate government of China by the United States in 1972.

true

If you read reports from a particular country that indicate how easily people can bribe police officers, prosecutors, and judges to get themselves out of legal trouble, this would most likely suggest the existence of what kind of state?

weak