Introduction to Comparative Politics
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Introduction to Comparative Politics offers an overview of the methodologies and core concepts used to analyze and compare political systems around the world. The course examines key political structures, institutions, and processes such as states, governments, elections, political parties, and policy-making in various countries. Students will explore major themes including democratization, authoritarianism, political culture, economic development, and social movements, learning how different societies address common political challenges. By engaging with case studies from diverse regions, students will develop analytical skills to critically evaluate political dynamics and outcomes on a global scale.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Comparative Politics 6th Edition by Patrick H. ONeil
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11 Chapters
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Chapter 1: Introduction
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following could be considered a major challenge faced by political scientists in their use of the comparative method?
A) tendency of researchers to focus on too broad a geographic area
B) difficulty in choosing from among a large number of comparable cases
C) general reluctance to look at historical factors
D) difficulty in controlling variables
Answer: D
Q2) What is inductive reasoning?
A) starting from a hypothesis, then seeking out the evidence
B) starting from a single case, then generating a hypothesis
C) the process of testing evidence using extensive field research
D) using ideological assumptions to create policy
Answer: B
Q3) A greater focus on collective equality is associated with
A) a smaller role for the state.
B) a larger role for the state.
C) less political violence.
D) fewer political parties.
Answer: B
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Page 3
Chapter 2: States
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Q1) Which one of the following accurately reflects the order of concepts from weakly institutionalized to highly institutionalized?
A) state, regime, government
B) regime, government, state
C) government, state, regime
D) government, regime, state
Answer: D
Q2) Country is a shorthand term for the combination of A) regime, government, nation.
B) nation, state, ideology.
C) territory, regime, state.
D) regime, state, government.
Answer: D
Q3) Russia is a good example of a state with A) high capacity but low autonomy.
B) low capacity but high autonomy.
C) high capacity and high autonomy.
D) low capacity and low autonomy.
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Nations and Society
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Q1) Radicals are those in the political spectrum who favor
A) evolutionary change of the status quo.
B) restoring structures that once existed.
C) dramatic change of the existing order.
D) the elimination of private property and an end to class divisions.
Answer: C
Q2) Conservatives are those in the political spectrum who favor
A) evolutionary change of the status quo.
B) revolutionary change of the status quo.
C) restoring structures that once existed.
D) little or no change to existing institutions.
Answer: D
Q3) Ethnic identity can be defined as a set of
A) linguistic differences between otherwise similar people.
B) biological characteristics that distinguish people.
C) institutions that bind people together through a common culture.
D) political similarities that bind people together.
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Political Economy
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Q1) In which of the following ways do both communism and mercantilism differ from liberalism?
A) They typically employ relatively low tariff barriers.
B) The state role in the economy is minimal.
C) They agree that markets should play a role, if a limited one.
D) They have more state autonomy and capacity.
Q2) Taxes on imported goods are known as
A) nontariff regulatory barriers.
B) quotas.
C) tariffs.
D) regulatory fees.
Q3) What are the relative benefits and drawbacks of using purchasing power parity (PPP),the Gini index,and the Human Development Index to measure relative wealth and inequality across countries?
Q4) ________ are the most fundamental components of political economy.
A) Property and assets
B) Income and markets
C) Markets and property
D) Supply and demand
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Chapter 5: Democratic Regimes
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Q1) The electoral system that tends to produce a large number of political parties is
A) the single-member district system.
B) the single transferable vote.
C) the mixed electoral system.
D) proportional representation.
Q2) Which of the following statements about legislative structures is accurate?
A) Upper houses of bicameral systems always fulfill a strictly ceremonial role.
B) The majority of liberal democracies have bicameral systems.
C) Larger countries are more likely to have unicameral systems.
D) Smaller countries are more likely to have bicameral systems.
Q3) Civil rights typically refers to the promotion of A) equality.
B) freedom.
C) civic duties.
D) republicanism.
Q4) Describe the benefits that political parties bring to a democracy.How might the structure of political parties differ between proportional representation systems and single-member district systems?
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Chapter 6: Nondemocratic Regimes
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Q1) Which term refers to a military seizure of the government?
A) coup de grâce
B) coup d'état
C) military usurpation
D) armed politics
Q2) Which of the following statements regarding nondemocratic rule and legitimacy is accurate?
A) Nondemocratic regimes are never legitimate in the eyes of the public.
B) Nondemocratic regimes are never legitimate in the eyes of the international community.
C) Nondemocratic regimes may enjoy the same level of institutionalization as any democratic regime.
D) Nondemocratic regimes were only considered legitimate if they are industrialized.
Q3) As a political system,totalitarianism is
A) common.
B) rare.
C) common only in Latin America.
D) common only in Africa.
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8
Chapter 7: Political Violence
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Q1) The statement "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter"
A) demonstrates that political scientists must consider multiple points of view when studying real-world cases.
B) seeks to demonstrate the mutability of political science terminology depending on context.
C) runs against a core aspiration of political science, which is to define terms objectively rather than subjectively.
D) is often used to demonstrate cultural differences in the application of political science.
Q2) Which of the following events is widely believed to involve (or have involved)state-sponsored terrorism?
A) fighting over the Indian province of Kashmir
B) the 1979 Iranian Revolution
C) the 2011 Egyptian uprising
D) the French Revolution
Q3) How and under what conditions does religion become a source for political violence?
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Chapter 8: Developed Democracies
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Q1) In terms of political structure and public participation,in which of the following ways are the United States and France similar?
A) They both employ semi-presidential systems.
B) They rely on some form of single-member district plurality or majority to elect their legislatures.
C) They both combine proportional representation and single-member districts.
D) They both employ referenda and initiatives only at the local level.
Q2) Which of the following is a core component of the European Union?
A) Security Council
B) European Assembly
C) European Parliament
D) European Council of Ministers
Q3) Which country's future membership is currently a major source of contention in the European Union?
A) Russia
B) Turkey
C) the United States
D) Greece
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Chapter 9: Communism and Postcommunism
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Q1) What was the title of the chief executive in a communist country based on the Soviet model?
A) prime minister
B) president
C) Supreme Leader
D) general secretary
Q2) The ________ is the name Marx chose for the system of economic production,including the level of technology (the "means of production").
A) superstructure
B) base
C) dialectical materialism
D) surplus value of labor
Q3) The term used to describe Marx's conception of historical change is
A) dialectical materialism.
B) graduated materialism.
C) dialectical gradualism.
D) graduated episodism.
Q4) What problems did the centralization of economic power in the state encounter that Marxist theory did not anticipate? Did communism create a more equal economic system?
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Chapter 10: Developing Countries
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Q1) Some observers of less-developed countries use the term ________ to describe the unequal economic relationship between those countries and advanced democracies in the modern postcolonial era.
A) quasi-socialism
B) pseudocapitalism
C) protoliberalism
D) neocolonialism
Q2) Which of the following might be a Washington Consensus policy recommendation to a less-developed country that would be opposed by a supporter of import substitution policy?
A) investing heavily in domestic agriculture
B) raising tariffs to reduce foreign imports
C) reducing state power
D) promoting private domestic industry
Q3) Describe the motivating factors that began the process of European imperialism in the 1500s.Why were European states so proficient at expanding colonial structures in the less-developed world?
Q4) What is the role of civil society and political engagement in developing a more effective state?
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Chapter 11: Globalization and the Future of Comparative
Politics
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Q1) Greenpeace is a good example of a(n)
A) multinational corporation.
B) nongovernmental organization.
C) international regime.
D) intergovernmental organization.
Q2) What aspect of globalization first came into being in the late nineteenth century?
A) the first truly global war
B) the first NGOs and IGOs
C) the first multinational corporations
D) the first transnational terrorist groups
Q3) In his work The Economic Consequences of the Peace,economist John Maynard Keynes describes a period that seems to have many similarities to the current state of globalization.Which of the following is that period?
A) period before World War I
B) period before World War II
C) Cold War
D) rise of the Ottoman Empire
Q4) Is globalization inevitable? What evidence suggests that it could be reversed?
Page 13
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