Political Science Midterm Questions
What does 'polyarchy' mean?
Majority rule Elite rule Minority rule Minorities rule***
Which of the following thinkers can be described as liberals? Please select all that apply.
Marx Locke*** Mill*** Rawls***
Which theory of the state holds the view that there are no predominant classes or interests within society, and that all groups get at least something of what they want?
Marxism Elitism Pluralism*** New Right
Which political theory seeks to re-establish the state as an institution with a role to play in uniting society around a specific set of values?
Marxism Liberalism Utilitarianism COMMUNITARIANISM
The logical positivists argued that...
Meaningful inquiry should contain a mixture of normative and empirical analysis Meaningful inquiry should contain a mixture of normative and empirical analysis Tautologies are meaningless Normative statements are meaningless****
Which political scientist argues that business has a privileged in the decision making arena?
Robert Dahl Nelson Polsby CHARLES LINDBLOM Charles Lindbergh
Which Marxist thinker uses the concept of the 'relative autonomy of the state'?
Robert Dahl Nelson Polsby Ralph Miliband Nicos Poulantzas
Which political theorist was responsible for identifying three different "faces of power"?
Robert Dahl STEVEN LUKES Bachrach & Baratz Brian Barry
Which Muslim country attempts to reconcile Islam with a secular state?
Saudi Arabia Morocco TURKEY Iran
On what grounds does Hobbes argue we should be obliged to obey the state?
THE PROTECTION OF OUR SECURITY The protections of our rights If it is democratic If it pursues the general will
"Anthropocentrism is a human-centered ethic."
TRUE
Constitutions are essential for federal systems
TRUE
Islamic fundamentalism is a "modern movement opposed to modernity".
TRUE
Laws are always approved by legislatures
TRUE
Somalis is a weak state under which there is no central authority.
TRUE
Do political institutions cause policy outcomes? For example, do first-past-the-post systems cause majority governments?
TRUE False
In saying that the natural scientist, just like the social scientist, is 'socially and politically embedded within a complex and densely structured institutional and cultural landscape which they cannot simply escape by climbing the ivory tower of academe to look down with scientific dispassion and disinterest on all they survey', Hay highlights the limitations of value-free research in both natural and social science.
TRUE False
Constitutions are essential for federal systems.
TRUE*** False
Inter-generational justice might clash with intra-generational justice.
TRUE*** False
Somalia is a weak state under which there is no central authority.
TRUE*** False
What does Robert Paul Wolff argue in his book "In Defense of Anarchism"?
The majority verdict should be accepted Governments should rule by whatever method they can Authoritarian government is sometimes acceptable NO GOVERNMENT IS LEGITIMATE
What is Rawls's device for ensuring that individuals do not know what their position in society will be?
The original position The social Contract THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE*** Reflexive equilibrium
Cosmopolitan theories of democracy focus on which of the following? Please select all that apply.
The state The global community*** Local authorities Pressure groups***
Borders were unimportant to traditional rulers in Africa and Asia.
True FALSE***
Mill advocates intervening only when an action is self-regarding.
True FALSE***
The growing legalization of political life is likely to pave the way for a decrease in political trust
True FALSE***
"Game Theory" suggests that political actors follow societal mores instead of self-interests.
True False***
Correlation and causality can be used interchangeably in political research.
True False***
Deductive approaches tend to be rich in empirical terms but poor in theoretical sense.
True False***
Ethnic nationalism refers to loyalty to the institutions and values of a particular political community.
True False****
Cosmopolitan theories of climate change and justice that see industrialized states as ultimately responsible for existing environmental problems have succeeded in their campaign for compensation.
True FALSE***
Human rights are universal and absolute.
True FALSE***
The European state spread around the world because of its moral superiority.
True FALSE***
President Kim Jong Il of North Korea is an institution.
True False***
What does J.S. Mill base his theory of liberty on?
Utilitarianism*** Rights Rational choice theory Political obligation
'Every exercise of power involves the imposition of someone's __________________ upon another.
VALUES
Complete the following quote from Karl Marx: "The ideas of the ____________ are in every epoch the ruling ideas .
ruling class
Which of the following are positive rights?
Right to liberty Right to life Right to property RIGHT TO EDUCATION
The decision-making approach to power is exercised when?
"A HAS POWER OVER B TO THE EXTENT THAT HE CAN GET B TO DO SOMETHING THAT B WOULD NOT OTHERWISE DO" 'A devotes his energies to creating or reinforcing social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration of only those issues which comparatively innocuous to A' 'A exercise power over B by influencing, shaping or determining his very wants' Decision makers exercise power
How did the American political scientist Harold Lasswell summarize political activity?
'The organised power of one class for oppressing another 'Governing mankind by deceiving them' 'Who gets what, when and how'**** 'Politics is at the heart of all collective social activity'
How did Karl Marx understand politics?
***As the means by which one class oppresses another**** As a way of reaching mutually beneficial compromises As the natural product of human competitiveness As an arena for competition between a capitalist and a proletarian party
Which of the following is consistent with a foundationalist ontology?
A REAL WORLD IS OUT THERE THAT CAN BE READILY OBSERVED. The world is socially constructed. Individuals are the building blocks of any social theory. The adoption of an interpretivist epistemology.
Which of the following are advocates of classical liberalism? Please select all that apply.
ADAM SMITH HERBERT SPENCER T.H. Green J.A. Hobson
Is it not the most insidious exercise of power to prevent people, to whatever degree, from having grievances by shaping their perceptions, cognitions, and preferences in such a way that they accept their role in the existing order of things, either because they can see or imagine no ________ to it, or because they see it as natural or unchangeable, or because they value it as divinely ordained and beneficial?
ALTERNATIVE
What is charismatic authority?
AUTHORITY DERIVED FROM THE PERSONALITY TRAITS OF AN INDIVIDUAL Authority derived from the holding of a constitutional office Authority derived from traditional customs and values Authority derived from gender
Which of the following are characteristics of conservative thought? Please select all that apply.
An aversion to rationalism*** An organic rather than a mechanical view of society*** egalitarianism Human perfection
In the 1950s which of the following were on the left of the Labour Party? Please select all that apply.
Aneurin Bevan*** Ernest Bevin Tony Benn Hugh Gaitskell
Who wrote the book "Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy"?
Anthony Downs John Stuart Mill JOSEPH SCHUMPTER Michael Schumacher
Which of the following are correct about elitism? Select all that apply.
Aristotle advocates the rule of an intellectual elite. Plato advocates the rule of an intellectual elite.*** In Conservatism, elitism took on a racial connotation. In National Socialism, elitism took on a racial connotation.***
Which of the following are examples of corporatist political systems in Europe? Please select all that apply.
Austria*** Sweden*** Netherlands*** United Kingdom
Robert Nozick criticizes Rawls's theory of justice for which of the following reasons? Please select all that apply.
Being too egalitarian*** Adopting an end-state rather than a historical principle*** Not protecting property*** Putting liberty before equality***
Which of the following authors argue that politics is the art of finding peaceful resolutions to conflict through compromise and the building of consensus? Please select all that apply.
Bernard Crick*** Gerry Stoker*** Karl Marx Thomas Hobbes
Which of the following does NOT represent Islamic Fundamentalism?
Boko Haram Ayatollah Khomeini EOKA Muslim Brotherhood
Is the state an abstract or a concrete term for political authority?
Both Abstract and Concrete
What was title of Tony Crosland's book?
Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Evolutionary Socialism Socialisms The Future of Socialism***
Which of the following are criticisms advanced by communitarianism against cosmopolitan theories on global justice? Select all that apply.
Cosmopolitan theories on global justice are simply unrealizable*** The idea of global citizenship is too far-fetched.*** The cosmopolitan conception of distributive justice is desirable. The idea of sovereignty is illusory.
Which model of power best reflects the statement that 'politics may be hierarchical, but rather than one homogeneous elite group, there are a multiplicity of competing elites'?
DEMOCRATIC ELITISM Elitism Pluralism Corporatism
Matthew Crenson's study of air pollution politics in the United States is an example of which of the following? Please select all that apply.
Democracy in action Non-decision making*** Ideological control*** Pluralism
Which model of power best reflects the statement that 'politics may be hierarchical, but rather than one homogeneous elite group, there are a multiplicity of competing elites'?
Democratic elitism Elitism Pluralism Corporatism
Which political thinker recommended that legislators retained independence from their constituents?
EDMUND BURKE Thomas Hobbes John Locke John Stuart Mill
The statement 'we ought to obey the state' is a form of which type of political analysis?
Empirical analysis Semantic analysis Normative analysis*** behaviouralism
An empirical analysis of a theory of the state would do which of the following?
Examine the degree to which a particular theory of the state is desirable *Examine the degree to which a particular theory of the state reflects the reality of any particular political system****** Examine the meaning of the terms used
If the state operates primarily as a tool in the hands of some group or groups in society at large, it reinforces authoritarianism
FALSE
The European State spread through around the world because of its moral superiority.
FALSE
Which of the following countries have witnessed the rise of neo-Nazism? Select all that apply.
FRANCE*** BELGIUM*** RUSSIA*** China
Which of the following are characteristics of the liberal democratic state? Please select all that apply.
Free and fair elections*** High degree of personal liberty*** Direct democracy State controlled press
Which of the following are liberal democracies? Please select all that apply.
GERMANY Russia Malaysia UNITED KINGDOM
Which of the following are liberal democracies? Please select all that apply.
Germany*** Russia Malaysia United Kingdom***
Which of the following is likely to influence our understanding of freedom and justice?
Globalization*** Regionalism Interdependence Climate change
Which philosopher did Marx criticize for seeking to explain the world rather than change it?
HEGEL Jean-Jacques Rousseau Thomas Hobbes John Locke
Behaviouralism was most influential...
In Britain in the 1950s In the United States in the 1970s In Italy in the 1930s In the United States in the 1960s****
Which of the following represent terms of interest to green political thought? Please select all that apply.
Inter-generational justice*** biodiversity*** ecosystem*** Reflective equilibrium
The advantage of the decision-making approach is that... (Please select all that apply.)
It is eminently researchable*** It is likely to generate pluralist conclusions It considers the preferences of those groups involved in decision making*** It can identify non-decision making
Which of the following political thinkers are utilitarian? Please select all that apply.
JEREMY BENTHAM JOHN LOCKE John Stuart Mill Thomas Hobbes
Which of the following political theorists advocated a participatory model of democracy? Please select all that apply.
Jean Jacques Rousseau*** G.D.H. Cole Carole Pateman John Stuart Mill***
Which of the following political thinkers can be regarded as democrats? Please select all that apply.
Jeremy Bentham*** John Locke Thomas Hobbes John Stuart Mill***
Who said that life in the state of nature was 'nasty, brutish, and short"?
John Locke Jean-Jacques Rousseau John Rawls THOMAS HOBBES
Which political theorist argues that we can be 'forced to be free'?
John Stuart Mill JEAN-JACQUES ROSSEAU Thomas Hobbes Jacques Cousteau
Which of the following are examples of developmental states?
KAZAKHSTAN SOUTH KOREA JAPAN Thailand
Which of the following thinkers can be regarded as postmodernists? Please select two.
Karl Marx G.W.F Hegel MICHAEL FOUCAULT JACQUES DERRIDA
Which approach to political economy is NOT advanced by reformist environmentalists?
LIMITS TO GROWTH Sustainable development Ecological Modernization The use of catalytic converters
Which ideological position would adopt the principle 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'?
Liberalism Socialism*** Conservatism Fascism
Which of the following is a liberal feminist.
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT Germaine Greer Kate Millett Carole Pateman
Which of the following types of regime did Aristotle regard as ruling in the interests of all?
MONARCHY TYRANNY Polity DEMOCRACY
A key thesis of the "end of history" argument is which of the following?
No-one believes in ideology any more. LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC VALUES ARE DOMINANT Karl Marx was right after all. The end of the world is coming.
Andrew Gamble in his book 'Politics and Fate' argues which of the following?
Our fate is out of our control. Human will can prevail easily. WHILST HUMANS FACE SEVER CONSTRAINTS THEY CAN STILL HAVE SOME IMPACT ON POLITICS Politics is about fate
Isaiah Berlin was an advocate of which of the following? Please select all that apply.
Positive Liberty Negative Liberty LIBERALISM*** Socialism
Which of the following ideas is most associated with Karl Popper?
Positivism FALSIFICATION Postmodernism Historicism
Which of the following political thinkers were Marxists? Please select all that apply.
Ralph Miliband*** Antonio Gramsci*** Nicos Poulantzas*** Robert Michels
Which of the following forms of government is described by the statement that "all should be involved in legislating, in deciding on general policy in applying laws and in governmental administration"?
Representative Democracy DIRECT DEMOCRACY Illiberal democracy Democratic Democracy
Which of the following contribute to the criticisms against the economic theory of democracy?
Voters choose to support a party on the basis of their perceptions of that party's particular policies Support for a party is unlikely to change even when the party's policies change.*** Politicians are merely vote-maximizers. Although people know that their vote would not make a difference to the result, they still vote.***
Which of the following are examples of totalitarian states? Please select all that apply.
West Germany EAST GERMANY Iran TURKEY
An ontology...
asks what there is to know.*** acquires knowledge of that which exists claims that reality is socially constructed. is what we ought to want.
"Where coercion creates obedience at a high cost in manpower and equipment, ______________ can control both the minds and the behavior of individuals at a very low cost.
authority
Complete Joseph Schumpeter's definition of democracy: 'That institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a _____________________________.
competitive struggle for the people's vote.
Power is visible only through its consequences: they are the first and the final proof of the existence of power. The continuing _____________________ of wealth, income and welfare that divide the population are ... the most visible manifestations of the division of power in a society such as Britain.
ineualities
"Authority can be defined as _______________ power".
legitimate