Contemporary Political Issues
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Contemporary Political Issues explores the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of modern politics at the local, national, and global levels. The course examines a wide range of current topics such as climate change, migration, populism, nationalism, technologys impact on democracy, identity politics, and global inequality. Through discussion, case studies, and analysis of news media, students develop the critical thinking skills necessary to understand, debate, and evaluate the complex challenges facing societies today, while engaging with diverse viewpoints and considering the impact of policy decisions on different communities.
Recommended Textbook
A Novel Approach to Politics 5th Edition by
Douglas A. Van Belle
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13 Chapters
518 Verified Questions
518 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introducing the Ancient Debate: The Ideal Versus the Real
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Q1) Which of the following theorists used utopian thought when he offered his harsh and influential critique of capitalism?
A)Aristotle
B)Niccolò Machiavelli
C)Karl Marx
D)Confucius
Answer: C
Q2) A society's religions,its customs and traditions,its resources,and its economy can all be part of its politics.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The period between World War I and World War II is often referred to as the ______.
A)interwar period
B)idealist period
C)transitional period
D)realist period
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Why Government Security, Anarchy, and Some Basic Group Dynamics
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Q1) Who is the "other?"
Answer: In group dynamics,the "other" becomes the enemy,them,not us.
Q2) The story of Bobsville and the collaborative efforts of the rice farmers illustrates ______.
A)the development of modern agricultural techniques
B)the failure of government institutions to maintain infrastructure
C)the role of collective action in providing security
D)how civilization has a corrupting influence
Answer: C
Q3) When the social structure or context leads one to accept another person's commands,direction,or other forms of control over their actions,the person is thought to have ______.
A)power
B)security
C)authority
D)charisma
Answer: C
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Page 4
Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the memorable line from the film Jerry Maguire that can help us unravel most confusing aspects of politics?
A)"Remember,it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
B)"I coulda been a contender.I coulda been somebody,instead of a bum ..."
C)"Show me the money!"
D)"I believe whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following statements about revolutions is true?
A)They are conducted only by a few.
B)They are collective actions.
C)They seek to reform the existing government.
D)They do not exist in hierarchical environments.
Answer: B
Q3) Peer policing means having people police each other.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Governments Role in the Economy: The Offer
You Cant Refuse
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the driving force of capitalism?
A)capital
B)free market environment
C)competition
D)labor
Q2) Which of the following represents a modern-day tragedy of the commons?
A)global warming
B)air and water pollution
C)depletion of oil (fossil fuel)supplies
D)all of these
Q3) Which of the following statements about capitalism and socialism is true?
A)Capitalism has completely destroyed all vestiges of socialism.
B)Pure socialist countries now outnumber all other countries combined.
C)Adam Smith uncovered the perfect balance between socialism and communism.
D)All functioning capitalist systems in the world today are actually mixtures of capitalism and socialism.
Q4) The tragedy of the commons is a result of the issues of collective action.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Structures and Institutions
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Q1) Discuss how a federal governance system is the best system for a capitalist economic system.
Q2) Which of the following is a political structure?
A)the British House of Commons
B)the U.S.Senate
C)a judicial system
D)the presidency
Q3) Which of the following systems of government is not currently used by any of the world's countries,although it is used by the United Nations and the European Union?
A)a federal system
B)a unitary system
C)a confederal system
D)a federal,unitary,or confederal system
Q4) Which of the following is a political institution?
A)the U.S.Supreme Court
B)the legislature
C)the executive
D)the judiciary
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Chapter 6: El Grande Loco Casa Blanca: The Executive in Bad Spanish
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Q1) Several forms of executive,such as 17th-century kings,are both head of state and head of government.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The "divine right of kings" refers to ______.
A)a king's claim that God had chosen him to rule
B)The Divine Miss M's blessing of a king
C)a monarchy
D)a dictatorship
Q3) The authoritarian monarch lives on today ______.
A)in the republics around the world
B)as the embodiment of the state
C)in Russia
D)as a democratic notion
Q4) Oligarchic forms of authoritarian rule are a thing of the past.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the difference between a patriarchal and matriarchal hierarchy.
Q6) Compare and contrast an authoritarian executive to a democratic executive.
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Chapter 7: The Confederacy of Dunces: The Legislative
Function Not in Bad Spanish
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Q1) A representative who utilizes both the trustee and delegate models of representation is referred to as a ______.
A)flip-flopper
B)partisan
C)politico
D)bipartisan
Q2) Which of these nations had 12 different governments from 1990 to 2004?
A)Canada
B)Australia
C)Cuba
D)France
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the five most important roles of the legislature identified in your text?
A)debating
B)lawmaking
C)representing
D)educating
Q4) Define the term gerrymander and explain how gerrymandering affects district elections.
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Chapter 8: Brazilian Bureaucracy: Do I Even Need to Bother
With the Jokes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Unlike other government institutions,the bureaucracy is defined by ______ within the institution.
A)the people
B)the positions (roles)
C)the constituency
D)the policies
Q2) The ideal of rule-based decision-making is to ______.
A)provide service with a personal touch
B)allow local authorities leeway to fit local circumstances
C)make sure that everyone is treated exactly the same
D)purposefully make the execution of mundane tasks exceedingly difficult
Q3) In an iron triangle,what do interest groups do to ensure that legislation is crafted according to their preferences?
A)legislate
B)raise funds
C)lobby
D)make policy
Q4) Does a bureaucracy in a federal system,like the United States,meet Max Weber's ideal requirement of clearly assigned roles,to avoid the overlap and duplication of efforts? Explain.
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Chapter 9:
Law:
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Q1) The evolution of the Clean Water Act is an example of ______.
A)bureaucratic law
B)the law on the books
C)the law in action
D)public policy
Q2) Which of the following statements about realist jurisprudence is true?
A)Legal realists focus on the behavior of police,judges,and attorneys rather than on the content of the law.
B)Realists believe that there is some higher law that originates with God or nature.
C)Realists believe that the content of the law should be read with a focus on formal logiC.
D)A good example of realist jurisprudence can be found in Blackstone's commentaries.
Q3) We are more likely to engage with laws in action than with laws on the books.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the difference between criminal and civil law and explain what standard of evidence is used in each.
Q5) Describe the many ways in which the courts monitor government.
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Chapter 10: Not Quite Right,but Still Good: The Democratic
Ideal in Modern Politics
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Q1) Democracy quite literally means "rule by the elites."
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not a reason people do not like direct democracy?
A)Direct democracy requires too much time for the evaluation of proposals.
B)Direct democracy requires too much expertise.
C)People prefer not to be too engaged in politics.
D)People are not bright enough to engage in direct democracy.
Q3) Which ancient Greek city-state was a direct democracy?
A)Sparta
B)Carthage
C)Athens
D)Madrid
Q4) Arrow's theorem demonstrates that the use of elections does not ensure that the majority's preference will be selected.Explain Arrow's theorem,detail what some of the different methods of tallying votes are,and give a real-world example of at least one of these methods and the shortcomings associated with it.
Q5) Why does the real-life use of initiatives lead some to argue that the initiative process represents exactly what is wrong with democracy?
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Chapter 11: Media,Politics,and Government: Talking Heads
Are Better Than None
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Q1) How can a journalist's efforts to provide both sides of a story work to distort reality?
Q2) Most news media products are available free of charge (such as through TV news and websites)or very inexpensively (such as through newspapers).How do the media make money,and what are they really selling? How does this affect the way news is framed?
Q3) Realities you have personally experienced are known as experiential.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is a part of your experiential reality rather than your agreement reality?
A)the war in Afghanistan
B)Sarah Palin's 2012 presidential campaign
C)your interaction with your highly gifted political science instructor
D)the Jewish Holocaust during World War II
Q5) According to the author,the news sells your attention.
A)True
B)False
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Q6) Describe the mutual exploitation model and explain how elites and the media benefit from their relationship with each other.
Chapter 12: International Politics: Apocalypse Now and Then
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Q1) A hegemon is ______.
A)a dominant power
B)an anarchic environment
C)the balancing agent in the balance of power
D)an imperial regime
Q2) Which of the following statements about democratic peace is false?
A)Liberal democratic regimes do not fight one another.
B)Political scientists do not agree on why liberal democracies do not fight each other.
C)Liberal democracies are less prone to war than are nations with other forms of government.
D)Immanuel Kant first argued that democracies would be less likely to go to war than other regimes would be.
Q3) Which of the following is not one of the three key assumptions of realism?
A)States are rational unitary actors.
B)States interact in an anarchic environment.
C)The core will never fight with the periphery.
D)Power is the fundamental resource to be pursueD.
Q4) Explain why and how World War I had a dramatic effect on the study of international relations.
Page 14
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Chapter 14: Political Culture: Sex and Agriculture, Getting
Rucked Explains It All
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Q1) The process by which a group teaches the shared social context to the members of society is referred to as ______.
A)political processes
B)political socialization
C)political indoctrination
D)political brainwashing
Q2) Which of the following is not an example of the application of culture to the pursuit of political goals?
A)the Russian Bolshoi Ballet's world tours during the Cold War
B)the use of the "Rape of Kuwait" as a justification for the first Gulf War
C)the use of the Olympics to bridge rifts among nations
D)the U.S.traveling version of Cirque du Soleil during World War II
Q3) Subcultures represent ______.
A)collectives of individuals between states
B)the political culture found on a submarine
C)smaller cultures within the main political culture
D)the political culture found within subway tunnel people
Q4) Culture is the set of intangible values that a group shares.
A)True
B)False
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