Deck 7: Democratic Systems of Government

Question 1

In what type of government system is the leader of the executive branch elected by the people in a separate election?

A)Federal
B)Parliamentary
C)Unitary
D)Presidential
E)Socialist

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Even though the president of the United States is commander in chief of the armed forces, only Congress can do which of the following?

A)Deploy troops to foreign lands
B)Declare war
C)Commission military officers
D)Negotiate treaties
E)Finalize a military draft

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The president of the United States is empowered to negotiate treaties with foreign nations. Treaties, however, do not become officially ratified until ratified by which of the following?

A)Both houses of Congress
B)The House of Representatives with a two-thirds vote
C)State legislations with a three-fourths vote
D)The House of Representatives with a majority vote
E)The Senate with a two-thirds vote

Answer 3

E

Question 4

What alternative to an individual executive did the Founding Fathers of the US Constitution consider and reject because of the need to act and react quickly in the arena of foreign affairs?

A)An American monarchy
B)A British-style monarchy
C)An executive council
D)A parliamentary system
E)Bureaucratic policy control

Question 5

Which delegate to the American Constitutional Convention had the greatest impact on the design of the individual executive?

A)George Clinton of New York
B)Roger Sherman of Connecticut
C)George Mason of Virginia
D)Edmund Randolph of Virginia
E)James Wilson of Pennsylvania

Question 6

Approximately how many civilian federal employees does the president of the United States oversee as chief executive?

A)1)5 million
B)3 million
C)4 million
D)5)5 million
E)6 million

Question 7

When Alexander Hamilton made a five-hour speech calling for a strong individual executive with imperial powers, including a life term and an absolute veto, he may have been doing what?

A)Calling for an American monarchy
B)Shifting the debate away from weak presidential models
C)Antagonizing Aaron Burr
D)Shifting the debate in favor of the Articles of Confederation
E)Promoting his candidacy for president

Question 8

Both presidents and prime ministers are the head of what branch of government?

A)Executive
B)Judicial
C)Bureaucratic
D)Legislative
E)The media

Question 9

Approximately what percentage of presidential vetoes are overridden by Congress with a two-thirds vote?

A)4 percent
B)21 percent
C)33 percent
D)40 percent
E)50 percent

Question 10

Which of the following is the fifteenth executive department, created after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States?

A)Department of Homeland Security
B)Department of War
C)National Security Administration
D)Terrorist Cessation Department
E)Transportation Safety Administration

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a potential concern about a presidential system, particularly in a newly emerging democracy?

A)The president may refuse a peaceable transfer of power after being voted out of office.
B)The president may too easily be impeached.
C)The president may become too strong.
D)The president may decide to dismantle the democratic system by which the leader came to power.
E)The president cannot be replaced following death or illness.

Question 12

Because the majority party that controls the House of Commons determines the prime minister of the United Kingdom, we label it as which of the following?

A)A unitary state
B)A federal state
C)A parliamentary democracy
D)A presidential democracy
E)A bicameral democracy

Question 13

Alexander Hamilton asserted that presidential pardons can be useful in "seasons of insurrections or rebellions" in which Federalist Paper ?

A)Federalist Paper No. 10
B)Federalist Paper No. 17
C)Federalist Paper No. 39
D)Federalist Paper No. 45
E)Federalist Paper No. 74

Question 14

Which of the following is an advantage to having an independent executive (president)?

A)Legislative terms that are fixed
B)Legislative terms that are flexible
C)Presidential power that is broad and centralized
D)Bureaucratic control of policymaking
E)Limited judicial interference in the executive branch

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a constitutional means by which Congress checks the president's commander in chief powers?

A)Congress's authority to appoint ambassadors, ministers, and consuls
B)Congress's authority to declare war
C)Congress's authority to punish felonies on the high seas
D)Congress's authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations
E)Congress's authority to raise and support armies

Question 16

What mechanism is periodically used in parliamentary systems to remove a prime minister and call for new elections?

A)Constitutional conventions
B)Impeachment
C)Judicial review
D)Regularly scheduled elections
E)Vote of no confidence

Question 17

Which three executive departments were initially responsible for all federal business?

A)Departments of Treasury, Justice, and State
B)Departments of Treasury, State, and War
C)Departments of the Interior, State, and War
D)Departments of State, Commerce, and the Interior
E)Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and the Interior

Question 18

The mechanism that allowed the president of the United States to veto only certain provisions of a law while signing the rest into law is called what?

A)The exceptional veto
B)The line-item veto
C)The partial veto
D)The pocket veto
E)The selective veto

Question 19

What country is considered the model for parliamentary democracy around the world?

A)Germany
B)France
C)Japan
D)The United Kingdom
E)The United States

Question 20

Presidential systems are characterized by which of the following?

A)An executive branch that is independent from the legislature
B)An executive branch that is fused with the legislature
C)An executive branch that is free from legislative control
D)A  legislative branch that controls agenda setting
E)A legislative branch that defers to the executive branch

Question 21

How is democracy in India different than in the United Kingdom?

A)India has a powerful president, whereas the United Kingdom has a weak president.
B)India has a powerful prime minister, whereas the United Kingdom has a strong monarch.
C)India would be described as a presidential system, and the United Kingdom as a parliamentary system.
D)India has strong state governments, whereas the United Kingdom is largely governed at the national level.
E)India is largely governed at the national level, whereas the United Kingdom has strong state governments.

Question 22

What made India's caste system, which offered few opportunities for economic and social advancement, so difficult to deal with politically?

A)Social traditions that financially eliminated social progress for millions required more than legal change.
B)There was difficulty approving the Indian constitution after independence.
C)The framers of the Indian constitution were afraid to place limits on private wealth.
D)Freedom from government arbitrariness was valued over challenges to social and economic inequality.
E)Certain inalienable rights were granted, but not supported, in the Indian constitution.

Question 23

In the United Kingdom, there is a "symbolic head-of-state" that reinforces the state's history and traditions. Which of the following is TRUE about that person?

A)He or she holds significant political power.
B)She is the queen of England.
C)He or she is known as the prime minister.
D)He or she serves at the discretion of the parliament.
E)He or she is directly elected by the public.

Question 24

Which of the following is the head of government in the United Kingdom?

A)The president
B)The leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
C)The queen
D)The prime minister
E)The royal governor

Question 25

The American and French Revolutions signaled to the masses that the only way for government to preserve rights is through which of the following?

A)Insurrection
B)Legislation
C)Rebellion
D)Representation
E)Revolution

Question 26

The British prime minister is called "first among equals" because of which of the following?

A)He or she must represent a particular legislative district before gaining leadership in the political party.
B)He or she is never independent of the legislative body from which they were selected.
C)He or she must operate according to the party platform.
D)He or she is the leader of the political party.
E)He or she must represent a particular legislative district before gaining leadership in the party, is never independent of the legislative body from which he or she was selected, must operate according to the party platform, and is the leader of the party.

Question 27

British debate on parliamentary systems emerged from the traditional dispute between which of the following?

A)The monarch and the Church of England
B)The monarch and Parliament
C)The monarch and the guilds
D)The people and Parliament
E)The people and the Church of England

Question 28

In a parliamentary system like the United Kingdom's, what term describes the legislature's attempt to defeat a government and hold new elections?

A)The "vote of no confidence"
B)Allocation of time motions
C)Impeachment
D)A roll call vote
E)A three-line whip

Question 29

Which is NOT true of India's divided executive system?

A)There is both a president and a prime minister.
B)Formal constitutional authority (Article 77)of the executive branch is given to the prime minister.
C)There is both a president and a vice president.
D)The president is elected by means of an electoral college for a five-year term.
E)The prime minister is the leader of the majority party elected to the Lok Sabha (lower house).

Question 30

Where is the real governing power in India?

A)With the office of the prime minister alone
B)With the office of the president
C)With the office of the prime minister and their Council of Ministers
D)With the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament)
E)With the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament)

Question 31

Who was the first president of India and the leader who generated a constitutional crisis in the 1950s by violating the conventions of cabinet government intended by India's Constituent Assembly?

A)Indira Gandhi
B)Rajendra Prasad
C)Pranab Mukherjee
D)Manmohan Singh
E)Sue Ellen Charlton

Question 32

The first president of India generated a constitutional crisis in the 1950s by violating the conventions of cabinet government intended by India's Constituent Assembly. What law resulted to clarify the situation?

A)The Forty-Second Amendment
B)The Indian Constitution
C)The Shared Governance Statutes
D)The No Confidence Statutes
E)The Ministerial Supremacy Law

Question 33

Indefinite terms of office refer to which of the following?

A)The length of time the United States president can serve during war time, as authorized by Congress
B)The way in which the British prime minister can serve as long as the people will continue to reelect his or her party
C)The way in which the British prime minister can call for a vote of no confidence and be removed from office
D)The way in which the Indian president is elected and the absence of term limits
E)The way in which the British monarch can dismiss an unpopular prime minister

Question 34

Which are the two most prominent parties in India?

A)Republican and Democratic
B)Conservative and Labour
C)National Congress and the BJP
D)BJP and the Communist Party
E)National Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party

Question 35

The "dual executive" system in the United Kingdom refers to which of the following?

A)The monarch and the prime minister
B)The monarch and the president
C)The prime minister and the head of the Church of England
D)The monarch and the head of the Church of England
E)The leader of the House of Commons and the leader of the House of Lords

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT part of the "presidentialization" of the British prime minister?

A)Appointment of a chief of staff
B)Appointment of a "second among equals" analogous to the vice president
C)Appointment of special assistants among the civil service
D)Declaration of potential party leadership in advance of elections by the dominant political parties
E)Parliamentary campaigns directed at the election of a particular prime minister rather than a party

Question 37

The United Kingdom is said to possess what type of political parties?

A)Inherited
B)Dynamic
C)Disciplined
D)Undisciplined
E)Weak

Question 38

Who served as the first British Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer?

A)Tony Blair
B)David Cameron
C)Margaret Thatcher
D)Robert Walpole
E)Nick Clegg

Question 39

What term describes the tendency of members of the prime minister's party to vote for their agenda?

A)A majoritarian system
B)First among equals leadership
C)Disciplined political parties
D)Legislative stringency
E)Strong party system

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT true of India's federal system?

A)There are four legislative lists of powers.
B)The central government, state governments, and provincial governments share power.
C)In times of emergency, the seat of government can convert the federal system into a unitary one.
D)The sharing of powers across multiple levels is designed to ensure stability.
E)Although the states have some reserved powers, the federal government holds supremacy in certain matters.

Question 41

Discuss the benefits of parliamentary systems' fusing of executive and legislative power. What is the possible disadvantage to this form of government, and how is it fostered by party discipline?

Question 42

What is the relationship between the president and the prime minister in India? How does this divide executive function, and which office wields more power?

Question 43

In what ways are cabinets similar and different in presidential versus parliamentary systems? Which structure do you find more compelling? Why?

Question 44

Describe the cabinet system in Britain. Why is this system so important in terms of policymaking? How is the cabinet system a major source of power for the prime minister?

Question 45

Describe the potential advantages and disadvantages of presidential systems. Make an argument either in support of or opposition to the idea that presidential systems are more efficient than parliamentary systems.

Question 46

In addition to an oath of office, what other oath must the prime minister of India take?

A)An oath of integrity
B)An oath of secrecy
C)An oath of poverty
D)An oath of fealty
E)An oath of service

Question 47

The Founding Fathers of the U.S. Constitution vigorously debated the form and powers of the American executive branch. What options were proposed, and by whom? Describe the final result of the presidency and the main powers of the office under the Constitution.

Question 48

In India, the prime minister is the head of both of the cabinet and what other important body?

A)The House of Lords
B)The Council of Revision
C)Rajya Sabha
D)The Congress of Deputies
E)The Council of Ministers

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT an Indian political party?

A)Indian National Congress Party
B)Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
C)Communist Party of India
D)Bahujan Samaj Party
E)The Labour Party

Question 50

Describe the process of becoming the prime minister of Great Britain. You should include indefinite terms, majority party, and the power of the existing prime minister to call for elections in your discussion.

Question 51

What are the major differences between a parliamentary and presidential system of democracy? Use examples from the British, American, and Indian systems in your discussion.

Question 52

In what ways is the governmental system of India similar to or reflective of that of Britain, and in what ways is it different? What accounts for these differences?

Question 53

Describe the abilities of the American president and British prime minister. Which office is more connected to the public? Which office is more politically powerful? Be specific in your answer.