Political Systems of the World Practice Exam
Course Introduction
This course offers a comprehensive examination of the diverse political systems functioning across the globe, analyzing how different nations organize power, make decisions, and govern their people. Students will explore key concepts such as democracy, authoritarianism, monarchy, and hybrid systems, comparing their structures, histories, and effectiveness. Through the study of various case studies from different continents, the course highlights the cultural, social, and economic factors that influence political institutions and actors. Emphasis is placed on understanding both established and emerging political models and the ways in which globalization, technology, and international relations impact governance and political change worldwide.
Recommended Textbook
Cases in Comparative Politics Fifth Edition by
Patrick H. ONeil
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction
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Q1) Which of the following units of government most often represents geographical subunits of the population in lawmaking?
A)the executive
B)the upper house of a bicameral legislature
C)the lower house of a bicameral legislature
D)the judiciary
E)the constitutional court
Answer: B
Q2) States that divide power between the central state and regional or local authorities are called:
A)unitary.
B)devolved.
C)weak.
D)federal.
E)democratic.
Answer: D
Q3) What are the major differences seen among parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each model?
Answer: Answers will vary.
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Chapter 2: United Kingdom
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Q1) Describe the similarities that exist between Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, despite Thatcher being a Conservative and Blair a Labourite.
Answer: Answers will vary.
Q2) In which of the following ways does the Labour Party differ from the Conservative Party?
A)It has been more vocal in opposition to EU membership.
B)It has proved less willing to engage in coalition governments.
C)It has formally reduced the once-dominant role of trade unions in party policy.
D)It is more ideologically pure.
E)It has suffered more internal divisions.
Answer: C
Q3) The Conservative Party is also known as the:
A)Whigs. B)Reds.
C)Tories.
D)Backbenchers.
E)Thatcherites.
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: United States
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Q1) Which of the following statements about the New Deal is accurate?
A)The New Deal resulted in growth of the state bureaucracy despite opposition from the Supreme Court.
B)Use of the state to restrict the power of big business was a centerpiece of the New Deal programs.
C)The New Deal concept was largely generated and pushed through by Republican reformers.
D)One long-term impact of the New Deal was to devolve power to the states.
E)The New Deal increased subsidies to some workers but reduced the rights of workers overall.
Answer: A
Q2) Separation of powers refers to the:
A)division of power to prevent any branch from dominating the state.
B)basic individual freedoms laid out in the Bill of Rights.
C)specific powers that have been laid out in the amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
D)separation between church and state.
E)rules governing the U.S. military.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: France
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Q1) How has France handled the issue of assimilation versus multiculturalism in recent decades? Is laïcité the right policy? Why or why not?
Q2) Which of the following was a founding principle of the French Revolution and creation of the French state that was absent from the principles of the American Revolution?
A)republicanism
B)a strong central state
C)commitment to a set of individual rights
D)celebration of multiculturalism
E)separation of church and state
Q3) Which of the following has resulted from the residual strength of populist ideas in France?
A)domination of the political scene by a few coherent political parties
B)a preference for a weak central state
C)extreme and contentious differences between the left and right in politics
D)a tendency toward mass protests
E)very low nationalist sentiment
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Chapter 5: Germany
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Q1) Which of the following descriptions best applies to the German state of Bavaria?
A)wealthy, strongly Catholic
B)strongly Protestant, independent
C)working class, multiethnic
D)strongly Catholic, working class, culturally dependent on Prussia
E)weak in any religious affiliation, wealthy
Q2) Which of the following could be considered a strong feature of German political culture?
A)support for collective well-being over individual rights
B)strong nationalism
C)postwar support for democracy as an expression of patriotic identity
D)national pride
E)support for a system that combines socialism with consensus
Q3) Describe the core principles of the Basic Law. How was it designed to mitigate the weaknesses and failures of past governments? How well has it succeeded?
Q4) Why did the Weimar Republic fail? Were internal or external factors more significant?
Q5) Has reunification succeeded in Germany? Identify the primary political, social, and economic challenges that remain.
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Chapter 6: Japan
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Q1) In which of the following ways does the Liberal Democratic Party differ from the Democratic Party of Japan?
A)It has demonstrated more electoral success in the aggregate.
B)It has largely avoided charges of corruption.
C)It places no time limits on the post of party president.
D)It has managed to avoid participation in a "twisted Diet."
E)It expresses less nationalist sentiment.
Q2) Japan's nineteenth-century modernizing slogan "rich country, strong military" best reflects which one of the following political economic systems?
A)liberal
B)social-democratic
C)mercantilist
D)communist
E)pragmatist
Q3) Discuss the consequences of Japan's historical division of labor between political rulers (shogun, Meiji oligarchs, MacArthur, bureaucrats) and those who reign (emperor, parliament) for the autonomy and capacity of the Japanese state.
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Chapter 7: Russia
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Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements about Russian presidential power is accurate?
A)The president both chooses and dismisses the prime minister.
B)The president cannot dissolve Parliament in the year following parliamentary elections.
C)The president can both propose and veto bills.
D)The president can issue laws that do not require legislative approval and that cannot be challenged in courts.
E)The president appoints the leaders of all of the federal districts.
Q2) Which of the following was the result of Gorbachev's attempt at reform?
A)increased economic growth
B)the breakup of the Soviet Union
C)democratic elections by which the Communists were returned to power
D)membership in the European Union
E)war with China
Q3) The Federation Council's primary role is to:
A)advise the president on foreign policy issues.
B)represent local interests.
C)serve as the prime minister's cabinet.
D)generate Russian legislation.
E)serve as the highest constitutional court.
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Chapter 8: China
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Q1) Mao and the Chinese Communist Party's circuitous 1930s retreat westward into China's hinterland was known as the:
A)Long March.
B)Great Escape.
C)Prelude to Victory.
D)Ten Thousand Li Struggle.
E)Heroic Retreat.
Q2) China's two most important river systems are the:
A)Sui and Tang.
B)Yellow and Yangtze.
C)Boxue and Miansu.
D)Plum and Terapin.
E)Meng and Xiang.
Q3) Briefly discuss China's separatist challenges in both Tibet and Xinjiang. How might China's experiences with Hong Kong and Taiwan have influenced its policies toward these two regions?
Q4) How has China managed to pursue more than three decades of progressing economic freedom while continuing to restrict political freedoms? Can this policy of economic liberalism and political authoritarianism continue? Why or why not?
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Chapter 9: India
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Q1) Discuss both the costs and benefits of British colonialism to Indian development, and assess the net influence of this colonial legacy.
Q2) Which of the following statements about the development of India's economy is accurate?
A)Efforts to transition from import substitution industrialization and toward social-democratic policies began in the 1980s and came into full swing in the 1990s.
B)The total number of poor Indians continued to increase through the first decade of the current century.
C)The stamping out of corruption and protectionism as barriers to economic growth is one of the major successes of the 1990s reform effort.
D)China's faster economic growth is credited in part to slower population growth than that of India, as well as to better education.
E)The license raj has only acquired more complexity and red tape in recent years, and will soon force the Indian National Congress to address a reform effort.
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Chapter 10: Iran
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Q1) Which of the following best describes Iran's population?
A)relatively young and ethnically diverse
B)relatively old and ethnically homogeneous
C)relatively young and ethnically homogeneous
D)religiously diverse
E)rapidly declining in total numbers
Q2) Operation Ajax refers to:
A)the removal of Reza Khan by the British in 1941.
B)the seizure of the American embassy in 1979.
C)the U.S./UK covert program that was instrumental in the overthrow of Mohammad Mosaddeq.
D)the first policies of land reform under the White Revolution in 1963.
E)the revolutionary movements that toppled the monarchy in 1979.
Q3) Iranians differ from much of the Middle East in that:
A)they are not Arabs and do not speak Arabic.
B)they are majority Sunni.
C)they are majority Sufi.
D)the majority of the population is Zoroastrian.
E)Iran is a monarchy.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Mexico
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Q1) Which of the following statements best describes Mexico's War of Independence?
A)It was dominated by liberals who favored democracy.
B)It was dominated by conservatives who sought independence from Spain in order to preserve the socioeconomic status quo.
C)It was a brief, relatively peaceful affair.
D)It was an indigenous rebellion against the white elite.
E)The United States invaded Mexico to support independence.
Q2) In which of the following ways does the Mexican Senate differ from the Chamber of Deputies?
A)The Senate has a committee system.
B)The Senate can levy taxes.
C)Senate members are unable to serve consecutive terms.
D)The Senate has the power to approve treaties.
E)The PRI was never able to fully control the Senate.
Q3) Which of the following describes maquiladoras?
A)factories that import materials to make goods for export
B)corrupt politicians
C)large state-backed agriculture corporations
D)Mexico's drug cartels
E)indigenous communities in southern Mexico
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Chapter 12: Brazil
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Q1) How do both the Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) differ from the Democrats (DEM)?
A)Both hold much smaller, weaker positions in the national legislature.
B)Both lack a strong ideological orientation.
C)Both lack a regional focus.
D)Both are more committed to free-market principles.
E)Both oppose coalition governing at the national level.
Q2) Which of the following statements about the da Silva administration's foreign policy is accurate?
A)Its strongly leftist policies angered U.S. administrations.
B)It successfully prosecuted a case against the United States in the World Trade Organization.
C)It regularly defaulted on international debt commitments.
D)International pressure forced it to institute radical protections for the Brazilian rain forest.
E)It supported the U.S.-backed plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Q3) Describe the main features of bureaucratic authoritarianism under military rule in Brazil. What legacy of that rule still affects Brazil today?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: South Africa
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Q1) The Great Trek was:
A)an Afrikaner migration to the interior of South Africa to escape the British, which later gained mythical status.
B)a long march by Bantu kingdoms to escape European colonization.
C)an epic battle between Afrikaners and the English.
D)a bloody battle between Xhosa and Afrikaners.
E)the legendary Dutch voyage from Europe to Africa.
Q2) Under apartheid, Bantustans were:
A)internationally recognized black states.
B)"independent" black states created by South Africa but not recognized by any other country.
C)squatter settlements of blacks within major South African cities.
D)banning orders, which prevented some South Africans from voting.
E)traditional African houses.
Q3) South Africa's strongest opposition party is the:
A)African National Congress.
B)National Party.
C)Democratic Alliance.
D)Inkatha Freedom Party.
E)Congress of the People.
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Chapter 14: Nigeria
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Q1) Nigeria's current legislative-executive system may be classified as:
A)presidential.
B)dictatorial.
C)parliamentary.
D)semi-presidential.
E)prime ministerial.
Q2) Since the elections of 1999, the dominant political party in Nigerian politics has been the:
A)People's Democratic Party.
B)All People's Party.
C)Alliance for Democracy.
D)Nigerian Socialist Party.
E)Action Congress.
Q3) The lower house of Nigeria's parliament is called the:
A)House of Burgesses.
B)Chamber of Deputies.
C)House of Representatives.
D)House of Councilors.
E)Chamber of Solons.
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Page 16