PS104 Chap 1 Quiz
A type of government in which one party controls the executive branch while another party controls one or both houses of the legislature is called ____________.
Divided Government
T or F A constitutional monarchy is a form of authoritarian government.
False
T or F A direct democracy is a form of government where people are chosen to make rules for us.
False
T or F Churches as a political socialization agent only impact you if you attend church services regularly.
False
T or F The central defining feature of parliamentary systems is its separation of powers.
False
T or F The main difference between votes of no confidence and confidence votes (or votes of confidence) is that votes of no confidence are initiated by the executive to push through a piece of legislation, while confidence votes are initiated by the legislature to potentially remove the prime minister from power.
False
T or F There usually are greater legal protections of citizens' rights and liberties in authoritarian systems than in mixed regimes.
False
T or F The main difference between GDP (gross domestic product) and GNP (gross national product) is GDP takes into account the income earned abroad by the country's residents.
False. GNP takes into account the income earned abroad by the country's residents
Which of the following statements about collective identities is INCORRECT? - It refers to groups with which people identify. - It involves issues of inclusion, political recognition, representation, resource allocation, and the ability to shape public policies. - It is nonexistent as a factor in homogenous societies like Britain, France, and Germany. - It provides the building blocks upon which social and political action is based. - It can be based upon gender, race, class, nationality, or religion.
It is nonexistent as a factor in homogenous societies like Britain, France, and Germany.
Which of the following statements about the Human Development Index is CORRECT? - The countries with the lowest HDI rankings were the United States, New Zealand, and Norway. - It assesses the level of interaction between people in a political system. - It includes measures for sustainable development. - It is compiled by the World Bank. - It is used to measure and compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and the standard of living.
It is used to measure and compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and the standard of living.
A _________ is a government formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties do not have a majority of seats in the legislature, yet it is sworn into office to enable a government to be formed.
Minority Government
__________ is a type of proportional representation election system that allows voters to rank order candidates. Those candidates that reach the established Droop quota are elected to office. If there are still seats to be filled, then the surplus votes of the elected candidates (i.e. those votes above the Droop quota) are redistributed according to the second preferences on the ballot papers. If this still does not produce enough winners, then the next step is to eliminate the weakest candidate and redistribute his or her votes to the candidates left in the race according to the second and then lower preferences. This process (of transferring the surplus votes and elimination of the weakest candidates) continues over and over again until all of the seats are filled.
A Single Transferable Vote System
The Social Progress Index is:
A composite index that takes into account measures for meeting basic needs, environmental sustainability, freedom, and tolerance
Which of the following characteristics is NOT associated with democracy. - A federal system - Limited restrictions on the voting rights of citizens - Uncertain electoral outcomes - Alternative sources of information - Cultural, ethnic, religious and minority groups are not prohibited from expressing their political interests or practicing their cultur
A federal system
Classifying states according to their level of democracy is an example of ________.
A typology
A country's executive may include _________ . - the prime minister - a religious supreme leader - the cabinet - the president - All of the above
All of the above
Institutional design refers to:
Arrangements that define relationships between the various parts of government and between different levels of government
Democratic transitions describe a process in which:
Authoritarian governments develop into more participatory and democratic regimes.
Comparing countries helps us to...
Better understand ourselves
Single member district plurality is an electoral system in which
Candidates run for a single seat from a specific geographic district. The winner is the person who receives the most votes cast.
Two main advantages of presidential systems include _________ and __________.
Checks and balances Fixed terms that make leaders accountable
A _________ government is a parliamentary government in which multiple political parties cooperate within the cabinet. By cooperating together, these parties collectively control a majority of seats in Parliament and can more easily pass legislation.
Coalition
Globalization blurs the line between
Comparative politics and international relations
The political culture of a state is
Fairly consistent over time
According to your text, while ________ is a useful measure to help understand a country's overall weight in the world economy, it does not reveal anything about the standard of living within a country.
GDP
Which of the following characteristics do we associate with unitary states? Dual taxation system Highly centralized national government National law is supreme in its sphere, while constituent level law is supreme in its sphere. Sovereignty rests solely with the subnational unit governments Regions have an implicit right of secession.
Highly centralized national government
When we say that a political system is a mixed system, we are saying that ______________ .
It exhibits some democratic and some authoritarian features
Which of the following statements about the Human Development Index is CORRECT? The countries with the lowest HDI rankings were the United States, New Zealand, and Norway. It is used to measure and compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and the standard of living. It includes measures for sustainable development. It is compiled by the World Bank. It assesses the level of interaction between people in a political system.
It is used to measure and compare levels of achievement in health, knowledge, and the standard of living.
The parliamentary procedure used by legislators (in parliamentary systems) to oust a prime minister or a member of the PM's cabinet is called a vote of ____________.
No confidence
Two main disadvantages of presidential systems include _______ and _______.
Political gridlock and the difficulty in removing an unsuitable executive
A monarchy using an established process of succession would be relying on which ONE of the following sources of legitimacy?
Procedures
The International Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries on the amount of corruption that exists among a country's ___________________.
Public officials and politicians
One advantage to the use of parliamentary systems includes
The ability to pass legislation easier and faster
According to your text, in comparative politics, the term state refers to ________ .
The key political institutions in a country
All of the following are primary agents of political socialization EXCEPT The environment that you grow up in Schools (K-12) Peer groups The mass media Churches
The mass media
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic that is typically associated with presidential systems. - Separate elections for both the president and the legislature. - The president's executive power is constrained by his having to share power with a separate Head of State and by his cabinet. - Weak party discipline. - Coequal branches can restrain each other's actions. - The legislature has its own political agenda, initiating and amending legislation.
The president's executive power is constrained by his having to share power with a separate Head of State and by his cabinet.
To say that we live in a globalized world of states is to say that: - There is an interaction between the national and international levels in shaping the politics of states. - The United Nations is a world government. - International processes are more important than domestic processes in explaining state behavior. - There are more countries today than ever before. - Countries are becoming more alike.
There is an interaction between the national and international levels in shaping the politics of states
T or F A type of Court politics -- a tyranny -- refers to a type of authoritarian government where a single charismatic holds almost all power and the state's politics revolves around that person.
True
T or F Backsliding is a term used to highlight states that are reverting back to authoritarianism.
True
T or F Comparative politics examines the internal political dynamics of a state, while international politics involves the study of the foreign relations of and between states.
True
T or F Even countries classified as authoritarian may include democratic values and practices.
True
T or F Institutional interest groups are groups that exist for purposes other than politics, but become involved in politics when their interests are threatened in some way or to achieve some explicit goal.
True
T or F Per capita GDP is one of the best ways to measure and compare the level of economic development and citizens' standard of living in different countries.
True
T or F Political socialization can be defined as the complex process where people acquire their political values and opinions.
True
T or F The primary power of a president is his/her power of the veto.
True
T or F Comparative politics examines the internal political dynamics of a state, while international politics involves the study of the foreign relations of and between states.
True
T or F The ides of social representation in bureaucracies is that they should not be too different from the population for which they work.
True
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic that is typically associated with parliamentary systems. - A fusion of powers. - Parliament does not have its own political agenda. - The terms of office for Parliament and the Prime Minister are less fixed than those in presidential systems. - Weak party discipline. - The Head of Government is indirectly elected.
Weak party discipline
Political legitimacy exists ___________ .
When broad citizenry believes that the state exercises rightful authority
The term political economy refers to ___________ .
how states and political processes affect the economy and how the economy in turn affects a country's political processes
The main disadvantage of state codes is
that these constitutions may need to be amended more often as they become dated.
All of the following are ways to measure a country's economic development EXCEPT: Gross National Product the Social Progress Index Gross National Product the Social Progress Index the Environmental Performance Index Purchasing Parity Power Gross Domestic Product
the Environmental Performance Index
