Deck 8: Comparative Politics I

Question 1

Which of the following has been used to restrict access to voting in the United States?

A) Property requirements
B) Taxes
C) Both A and B
D) Neither A nor B

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In the United States, the Supreme Court has consistently interpreted the Bill of Rights to mean that individual liberties such as freedom of expression are absolute liberties/freedoms.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

All the world's stable democracies are old democracies (that is, democracies which have existed as democracies for at least 150 years).

Answer 3

False

Question 4

All democratic countries have written constitutions and written Bills of Rights.

Question 5

Which of the following is true of nondemocratic governments?

A) Such governments sometimes mobilize the citizenry to act politically.
B) Both popular mobilization and freedom of participation are absent in nondemocratic governments.
C) All nondemocratic governments are led by military elites.
D) Most nondemocratic governments have evolved out of performance democracies.

Question 6

Nondemocratic governments

A) may suppress various groups within society.
B) may produce laws and policies that are not reflections of popularly defined and popularly articulated interests.
C) may have unclear lines of succession.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 7

Pericles

A) opposed performance democracy.
B) favored democracy.
C) was the first person to analyze political socialization.
D) preferred monarchy to democracy.

Question 8

Leaders of democratic country X want to increase levels of democracy by increasing the standard of living and the overall quality of life enjoyed by the demos.In emphasizing these elements of democracy, leaders of country X are emphasizing

A) protective democracy.
B) performance democracy.
C) participatory democracy.
D) privacy democracy.

Question 9

The process of political learning that involves the formation of political attitudes is known as

A) civil society formation.
B) performance democracy.
C) political socialization.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 10

Women gained voting rights earlier in the United States than in Switzerland.

Question 11

The __________ is a component of pluralist democracy as practiced in _________.

A) church tax; the United States
B) church tax; Germany
C) newspapers in the schools; Argentina
D) Sedition Act; United States

Question 12

The Magna Carta

A) proclaimed that the king would recognize the rights of subjects.
B) is a part of the constitutional tradition in Britain.
C) Both A and B are true.
D) None of the above is true.

Question 13

Both compulsory and optional referenda are used in Switzerland.

Question 14

Civil society

A) is that part of a country that is neither the government nor the economy.
B) exists in nondemocratic societies, but not in democratic societies.
C) is that part of society in which individuals exist, but interest groups do not.
D) refers to that part of the population that is law-abiding and peaceful.

Question 15

A study of U.S.political history reveals that during the eighteenth century groups considered to be "dependents"

A) could be denied the right to vote.
B) were eligible for social welfare payments from both the federal and state governments.
C) included only individuals under the age of 16.
D) were more likely to be working in industrial jobs than in agricultural employment.

Question 16

In the United States, the case of Roe v.Wade

A) denied that U.S.citizens had a right to privacy.
B) created the idea of developmental democracy.
C) upheld the legality of abortion.
D) Both A and C are true.

Question 17

Nawal el Saadawi

A) is an advocate of religious conservative values in the new (post-Arab Spring) Egypt.
B) is an Egyptian feminist.
C) implemented political socialization reforms in Latin America after World War II.
D) is a leading voice for overturning the church tax in Germany.

Question 18

The component of democracy that assesses the extent to which people develop their own awareness of their role in promoting self-government is known as the _____ component.

A) developmental
B) output
C) protection
D) electorate

Question 19

Group X is a pro-democracy interest group that emphasizes democracy's ability to limit government power so that excessive governmental regulation does not occur.Group X's emphasis on limiting governmental power is the equivalent of emphasizing which component of democracy

A) protection.
B) participation.
C) performance.
D) kratien.

Question 20

In both Egypt and Tunisia, supporters of the Arab Spring were in agreement on the undesirability of Sharia law, while opponents of the Arab Spring agreed that Sharia law was desirable.

Question 21

How could one argue that Switzerland is more democratic that the United States? How could one argue the opposite? Give at least two examples to support both positions.

Question 22

In China, the Great Leap Forward

A) was intended to increase Chinese agricultural and industrial production.
B) was intended to open Chinese universities to students and professors from all over the world.
C) was primarily designed to improve China's relations with the United States.
D) was designed to introduce protective democracy in China.

Question 23

Compare and contrast protective and performance democracy.Which approach to democracy is more important, in your estimation? Give at least two points of evidence to support your conclusion.