POLS-Y107 Quiz Questions
Which of the following statements about bicameralism is accurate?
Bicameral systems were often retained in modern times to restrict the power of popularly elected lower houses of the legislature.
In which of the following ways does a government built primarily on charismatic legitimacy differ from one based on traditional legitimacy?
Charismatic legitimacy would likely be much shorter-lived.
Which of the following statements about semi-presidential systems is accurate?
Constitutional courts are often less powerful as a result of appointment by the president.
In which of the following countries is increased multiculturalism most likely to be a source of explosive fear and negative reaction?
France
What is the chief advantage that a categorization using "developed," "communist/postcommunist," and "developing" might have over the "three worlds" model?
It allows for the possibility that a country might transform and take on a new designation.
Which of the following statements about game theory is accurate?
It assumes rational, predictable behavior by individual human beings.
Which of the following best describes the nature of integration as it has developed in the European Union?
It grew to its present state through a series of incremental agreements negotiated over several decades, including as recently as the 2000s.
Which of the following statements about the development and spread of the modern state is accurate?
Many states were able to use ethnicity as a nationalizing force even as people began to define themselves less through characteristics like religion or town of residence.
Why might the term patriotic fail to characterize the Palestinian people?
Patriotism refers to pride in one's state, and Palestinians lack a formal state.
Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between revolution and violence?
Revolutions are most often violent, though some argue that nonviolent revolutions have occurred.
Which of the following can be said about the concept of a regime?
The differences between regimes are most likely to be unwritten and informal, though they can appear in written constitutions.
In which of the following ways do both conservatives and liberals differ from radicals?
They favor evolutionary change instead of rapid change.
Which of the following is true of the concept of political institutions?
U.S. democracy is an institution in both the formal and informal sense.
Which of the following accurately describes a component of a mixed electoral system?
Voters are allowed two votes, one for a candidate and one for a party.
War crimes and human rights abuses can be defined as:
War crimes and human rights abuses can be defined as:
Which of the following statements about fundamentalism is accurate?
Which of the following statements about fundamentalism is accurate?
When looking at terrorists' backgrounds, we find that they:
often come from educated backgrounds.
What is inductive reasoning?
the means by which we go from studying a case to generating a hypothesis
A state that encompasses one dominant nation that it claims to embody and represent is known as:
a nation-state.
Revolution is most accurately defined as:
a public seizure of the state in order to overturn the existing government and regime.
Political culture can be defined as:
a society's norms for political activity.
Capacity can be defined as the:
ability of the state to wield power in order to carry out the basic tasks of providing security and reconciling freedom and equality.
The ability of constitutional courts to strike down legislation even in the absence of a specific court case is known as ________ review.
abstract
Political scientists, based on the work of Max Weber, define the state as:
an organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory.
In terms of achieving their stated long-term outcomes, terrorists:
are usually unsuccessful.
The shift in comparative politics away from political institutions (such as legislatures and constitutions) and toward individual political behavior is known as the:
behavioral revolution.
In a presidential system, the president typically serves as:
both head of state and head of government.
To a comparativist, which would be of more value: discovery of a correlation or discovery of a causal relationship? Why?
causal relationship, because it describes a more concrete, specific relationship between two variables
Which of the following concepts has the most potential to be inclusive or flexible?
citizenship
A diverse fabric of organizations created by people, not necessarily political, to help define and advance their own interests is known as:
civil society.
The shorthand term for the combination of regime, state, and government is:
country
The two processes currently bringing the most profound change to the developed democracies are:
devolution and integration.
Which of the following forms of research or data would more likely be used by a quantitative research study than by a qualitative research study?
economic data
Proportional representation systems can be defined as:
electoral systems in which the percentage of votes a party receives in a district will determine how many seats that party will win.
Thomas Hobbes believed that people gave up their rights to the coercive power of the state in order to:
escape anarchy.
During the Cold War, the developed democracies were commonly referred to by scholars as the:
first world.
Which of the following concepts or phenomena was first and most directly connected to state development?
growing ethnic identity
The executive who symbolizes and represents the people is the:
head of state.
Which of the following could be categorized as an individual explanation for political violence?
humiliation
What phenomenon is most responsible for bringing the organization of the modern state into adoption by most of the world?
imposition by European states through colonial dominance
The viability of the welfare state is most challenged by:
increasingly old populations.
The substance of politics is inevitably bound up in the struggle between:
individual rights and collective equality.
Which of the following statements about game theory is accurate?
it assumes rational, predictable behavior by individual human beings.
An institution that is recognized and accepted as right and proper by the public is seen as:
legitimate.
Conservatives are those in the political spectrum who favor:
little or no change to existing institutions.
Developed democracies are characterized by rational and secular institutions, part of what makes them:
modern
According to your text, postmodern values tend to emphasize which of the following?
quality of life
One big rift within the study of comparative politics is: Correct!
quantitative versus qualitative research.
Modern states are built primarily on what form of legitimacy?
rational-legal
It has been argued that the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the 2011 Egyptian Revolution are examples of which model of revolution?
relative deprivation model
Sovereignty is defined as the ability of:
states to carry out actions or policies within a territory independent of external actors or internal rivals.
The emergence of the modern state is closely tied to which of the following specific developments?
the collapse of the Roman Empire
Which of the following is the best-known example of the process of integration?
the formation of the European Union
Postindustrialism most threatens the economic security of:
the less educated.
Endogeneity refers to:
the problem of distinguishing cause from effect.
Terrorism can be defined as:
the use of violence by nonstate actors against civilians in order to achieve a political goal.
War crimes and human rights abuses can be defined as:
the use of violence by states against civilians in order to achieve a political goal.
Which of the following lists Max Weber's three forms of political legitimacy?
traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal
Prime ministers can be removed through which mechanism?
vote of no confidence
A major criticism of comparative politics at the turn of the twentieth century was that it:
was descriptive rather than explanatory.
Autonomy can be defined as the ability of the state to:
wield power independent of the public or international actors.
