Introduction to Political Science Exam Practice Tests
Course Introduction
Introduction to Political Science provides students with a foundational understanding of the key concepts, theories, and structures that define the study of politics. The course explores the nature of political systems, the functioning of governments, the role of political institutions, and the impact of public policies on societies. Students will analyze the behavior of individuals and groups within political contexts, examine different ideologies and comparative political systems, and gain insight into the methods used by political scientists for research and analysis. By fostering critical thinking and informed discussion, this course prepares students to better understand current events and the broader forces shaping national and global political landscapes.
Recommended Textbook
Understanding Politics Ideas Institutions and Issues 11th Edition by Thomas M. Magstadt
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18 Chapters
738 Verified Questions
738 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Introduction: The Study of Politics
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Studying the voting patterns of males in Senate elections would fall under which subfield?
A)Political theory
B)International relations
C)Comparative politics
D)U.S. government
E)Public administration
Answer: D
Q2) The principle reason to study politics is
A)national interest.
B)self-interest.
C)public interest.
D)both A and B.
E)both B and C.
Answer: E
Q3) The scope of international relations goes beyond issues of war and peace between states.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: The Idea of the Public Good: Ideologies and Isms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Who was the main architect behind the restoration of classical liberalism in economics during the twentieth century?
A)Friedrich Hayek
B)Milton Friedman
C)Adam Smith
D)Helmut Kohl
E)Ronald Reagan
Answer: B
Q2) Following World War I, extremists of the right became dominated by what ideology?
A)The Religious Right
B)Libertarianism
C)Fascism
D)Monarchism
E)None of the above
Answer: C
Q3) Communism is the most prevalent and powerful ideology in Europe and Asia today.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Utopias: Model States
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Sample Questions
Q1) Behind utopian visions are a set of shared assumptions about human beings and what is best for them.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Whose work is considered to offer a dystopian vision of society?
A)Plato
B)Francis Bacon
C)Karl Marx
D)B. F. Skinner
E)None of the above
Answer: E
Q3) Plato believed that ideal state authority should rest in the hands of the philosopher-kings.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Constitutional Democracy: Models of Representation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following help to reinforce a sense of continuity to our government?
A)History
B)Ritual
C)Symbolism
D)Tradition
E)All of the above
Q2) How has the system designed by the Founding Fathers changed over time? Is the practice of politics dramatically different today than at the time the Constitution was written? Which of these two is most similar to how other modern democracies function?
Q3) Constitutional democracy is a modern form of Athenian style direct democracy.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In order to be considered a democracy, a government must function openly and according to a clear set of rules.
A)True
B)False
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Page 6
Chapter 5: The Authoritarian Model: Myth and Reality
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is Iran considered to be an oxymoronic kind of state?
A)It is a democratic dictatorship.
B)It is a modern theocracy.
C)It is militantly pacifist.
D)It is a public aristocracy.
E)It is an open society that is controlled.
Q2) Which is not a possible virtue of authoritarian government?
A)Efficiency
B)Limited opportunities for special interest groups
C)Faster economic growth
D)Effective infrastructure construction
E)Stability
Q3) Although it is trying to improve, which of the following is the best description of modern day China?
A)Bureaucratic totalitarian state
B)Monolithic police state
C)Self-defeating ideological state
D)Economic revolutionary state
E)Authoritarian police state
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Chapter 6: The Totalitarian Model: A False Utopia
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Sample Questions
Q1) Whatever the quality of leadership, total revolutions depend in the final analysis on the willingness of converts to engage in extraordinary acts of self-sacrifice in the name of the cause.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Who were the people eliminated by Stalin because they resisted his drive to establish collective farms under state control?
A)Kulaks
B)Bolsheviks
C)Mensheviks
D)Collectivists
E)Both A and C
Q3) Why does the text refer to totalitarian regimes as false utopias?
Q4) Mao's "Great Leap Forward" of the late 1950s was preceded by what episode?
A)Hundred Flowers Campaign
B)Venetian Poll
C)Green Earth Movement
D)Chinese Celebration
E)Communist Commitment
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Chapter 7: Parliamentary Democracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) The democratic system in Israel guarantees full civil liberties to all citizens.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What peace treaty was brokered by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to end the war between Israel and Egypt?
A)Meiji Restoration
B)Peace of Washington
C)Knesset Armistice
D)Camp David Accords
E)Israeli Concord
Q3) What have the recent histories of France, Germany, and Japan clearly demonstrated?
A)Constitutional democracy is highly adaptable.
B)Democracy will flourish whenever a country is economically prosperous.
C)Strong executives lead to weak judiciaries.
D)Some states have authoritarian political cultures that preclude democracy.
E)Any government that can alleviate poverty is, by definition, good government.
Q4) Japan is a perfect example of what Aristotle would call a "mixed regime."
A)True
B)False
Page 9
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Chapter 8: States and Economies in Transition: Between
Democracy and Yesterday
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Pan-Blue Coalition favors an official declaration of Taiwanese independence.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The most critical social problems in the former Soviet Union were alcoholism, corruption, and a widening technology gap.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Glasnost, or openness, reinforced perestroika by relaxing controls on the media and liberalizing the culture.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The New Economic Mechanism (NEM) attempted to decentralize the economy of which state?
A)Romania
B)Poland
C)Hungary
D)Russia
E)Czech Republic
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Development: Myths and Realities
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Sample Questions
Q1) What does the "green revolution" refer to?
A)A military insurrection in Nicaragua in 1985
B)The dramatic rise in food production produced by modern farming techniques
C)The change in currency that often accompanies modernization
D)Modernization of the Brazilian rain forest
E)The fight to protect the environment in developing countries
Q2) One obstacle facing many developing countries is monoculture, which is the
A)practice of raising only one major crop.
B)dominance of only one ethnic group.
C)concentration of power in one elite group.
D)practice of interacting only with family members.
E)lack of diversity within large populations.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an achievement India has made since independence?
A)Civilian control over the military
B)Reduced poverty by more than half
C)Become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
D)Maintained a parliamentary democracy
E)Dramatically improved literacy and health care delivery
Q4) Discuss the four political challenges facing developing nations. What kinds of problems are inherent to each? How can these challenges be met?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Political Socialization: The Making of a Citizen
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Sample Questions
Q1) What kind of political system defines citizenship simply in terms of a person living within a state's borders?
A)Democratic political systems
B)Authoritarian political systems
C)Totalitarian political systems
D)Elitist political systems
E)All of the above
Q2) The failure of political socialization is always detrimental to the government in power.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is a position generally supported by women?
A)To not support gun control
B)To support war
C)To support capital punishment
D)To support human rights
E)To not support social programs
Q4) What are the forms of illegal political behavior and what are they supposed to accomplish? Explain.
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Chapter 11: Political Participation: The Limits of Democracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) On whose behalf do lobbyists attempt to influence governmental policy?
A)Political parties
B)Individual citizens
C)Individual candidates
D)Special interests
E)None of the above
Q2) Direct referenda are often used on issues regarding the European Union.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Although voter turnout is considered low in the United States, it is higher than that of most European countries.
A)True
B)False
Q4) To win a plurality election, a candidate must have at least 60% of the vote.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The Internet has given power to the people and encourages more grassroots political action.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Political Leadership: The Many Faces of Power
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following was NOT an attribute of RĂ³mulo Betancourt?
A)Knowing when to compromise and when not to
B)The ability to judge people's motives
C)Practical idealism
D)Knowing how to tame the ambitions of military officers
E)Self-control
Q2) The idea of statecraft has only been developed in modern times.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Although opposed to slavery, Lincoln knew that an outright ban would not work, so what did he try to do instead?
A)Asked for each state to propose their own plan
B)Was waiting for Congress to intervene
C)Initiated a program of weaning the south off slavery
D)Initiated a policy of no slavery in any new territory
E)Used intimidation tactics, which backfired
Q4) Aung San Suu Kyi's role in Burma is similar to that of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Issues in Public Policy: Politics, Principles, Priorities, and Practicies
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the five goals of democratic government? Give examples of how the United States government has attempted to achieve each one. Then give an example of how two of these goals have come in conflict. Have attempts been made to resolve this conflict? How successful have they been?
Q2) How have the United States' previous issues with equality affected the situation in employment and social class? Are these issues still worth considering and taking action to correct today? Explain?
Q3) In 2009 what percent of the U.S. population had no health insurance?
A)9 percent
B)12 percent
C)15 percent
D)20 percent
E)25 percent
Q4) The United States is the only postindustrial society in which private ownership of handguns is considered normal and private arsenals are not unusual.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Revolution: In the Name of Justice
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which political philosopher argued that the greatest injustice a government could commit was the denial of the people's right to choose their own government?
A)Edmund Burke
B)Alexander Hamilton
C)Ted Gurr
D)Thomas Paine
E)John Locke
Q2) Revolutions are, by definition, violent political phenomenon.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Karl Marx declared _____ to be the ultimate cause for all revolutions.
A)poverty and social alienation
B)restriction of liberty
C)economic improvement
D)inequality in wealth
E)the perception that government leaders are inept
Q4) Edmund Burke thought that political philosophy was the secret to good government.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: War: Politics by Other Means
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Sample Questions
Q1) What term best describes the death of civilians while trying to kill enemy combatants in a war zone?
A)War crimes
B)Collateral damage
C)Crimes against humanity
D)Both A and C
E)All of the above
Q2) Which of the following played only a minor role in the major wars of the twentieth century?
A)Nationalism
B)Arms races
C)Nationalistic universalism
D)Religion
E)Reasons of state
Q3) The human condition before the creation of a social code of behavior and collective techniques to control normal human impulses is known as the state of nature.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Can we sustain a war against an idea, concept, or condition? Explain.
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Chapter 16: Terrorism: Weapon of the Weak
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Q1) The Italian handling of the Red Brigade is considered a successful counterterrorism story because the group was neutralized before they could cause any damage or casualties.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In what decade did terrorism and counterterrorism become a major "growth industry"?
A)1960s
B)1970s
C)1980s
D)1990s
E)2000s
Q3) Which of the following is responsible for foreign intelligence and forbidden from domestic spying?
A)Homeland Security
B)NSA
C)CIA
D)FBI
E)U.S. Marshals
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Page 18
Chapter 17: World Politics: The Struggle for Power
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which region has the largest percentage of the worldwide Internet audience?
A)Latin America
B)Europe
C)Africa
D)Asia Pacific
E)None of the above
Q2) Idealism helps explain why nations act, but also furnishes guidelines for how nations ought to act.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Green Parties exist in virtually every major democracy except A)the United States.
B)Great Britain.
C)Germany.
D)Italy.
E)None of the above is correct.
Q4) The Industrial Revolution transformed the art of warfare through the new changes in economics and technology.
A)True
B)False
Page 19
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Chapter 18: International Organizations: Globalization and the Quest for Order
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Euro crisis started in Spain, but spilled over to Ireland, Portugal, Greece, and Italy in 2011.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following created a passport free zone in the mid 1980s, which stood as the model for the rest of the EU?
A)Common Agricultural Policy
B)The Schengen Area
C)Single European Act
D)Emissions Trading Scheme
E)North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Q3) Which year had the most UN peacekeeping fatalities?
A)1989
B)1995
C)2003
D)2010
E)None of the above
Q4) The growth of multinational corporations has been limited in recent years. A)True B)False
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