Deck 8: Constitutions and Constitutional Design

Question 1

What is a constitutional system that disperses some powers in states or provinces called?

A) A republic
B) A unitary state
C) A federal state
D) A constitutional state

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following societies has a federal system?

A) The United States
B) Brazil
C) China
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is untrue of constitutions?

A) Constitutions are generally written.
B) Constitutions establish the basis of a political system.
C) Constitutions are "social contracts."
D) Constitutions are static.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The structures and organizations that shape political behavior are called:

A) Legislatures
B) Constituencies
C) Institutions
D) Branches

Question 5

Constitutionalism is another term for:

A) Federalism
B) Democratic legislation
C) Rule of Law
D) Limited government

Question 6

In most cases, how are constitutions changed?

A) Through a process of public referendum
B) Through a process of amendment
C) Through a process of constitutional design
D) Constitutions do not change

Question 7

The written form of the fundamental and supreme laws establishing the basis of a political system and its laws is known as a:

A) Constitution
B) Magna Carta
C) The Settlements Act
D) The Bill of Rights of 1689

Question 8

What is federalism?

A) The separation of powers among different levels of government in a country
B) The system of checks and balances between the executive and the legislative branches
C) The system of government in which the central government is predominant
D) The concentration of powers in the executive branch

Question 9

Which U.S. president stated, "The question of the relation of the states to the federal government is the cardinal question of our constitutional systems"?

A) Calvin Coolidge
B) Theodore Roosevelt
C) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
D) Woodrow Wilson

Question 10

Unlike federalism, unitarism refers to:

A) Multiple levels in government having some degree of autonomy
B) The institutions and branches of the central government maintaining sovereignty
C) A lack of separation between church and state
D) Unification of decision making in a single branch of government

Question 11

Judicial review refers to:

A) The authority for a judge to rule which laws are or are not consistent with a constitution
B) The ability for a circuit-level judge to appoint district-level judges
C) The right that a judge has to ignore precedent in their rulings
D) The law that allows a judge to choose which cases their court will hear

Question 12

The establishment of three branches of government in the United States is an example of:

A) Executive privileges
B) Separation of powers
C) Federalism
D) Democratic governance

Question 13

The Magna Carta of 1215, the Bill of Rights of 1689, and the Acts of Settlement of 1701 all have constitutional significance in which country?

A) New Zealand
B) United States of America
C) United Kingdom
D) France

Question 14

The Supreme Court of the United States

A) Is the final arbiter of constitutional law
B) Exercises the political check of judicial review
C) Justices are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate
D) All of the above

Question 15

Which of the following is not true of the Brazilian and South African constitutions?

A) Both are extensive, with each containing over two hundred articles
B) Both include dispensations about the division of powers between levels of government
C) Both empower supreme or high courts with a power of judicial review on constitutional issues
D) Both created parliamentary systems of government

Question 16

To what does parliamentary sovereignty refer?

A) The legislating body is the highest political and legal authority in the land.
B) The members of parliament are elected for life.
C) The upper house or chamber is more powerful than that which represents proportionally.
D) All of the above

Question 17

Why might parliamentary sovereignty be a risky system?

A) The parliament members are appointed, not elected.
B) The parliament has total control over the budget.
C) The parliament determines constitutionality of its own actions.
D) It would not be risky.

Question 18

Who wrote The Federalist Papers?

A) Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
B) William Connelly, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson
C) Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton
D) Franklin Pierce, William Riker, and John Jay

Question 19

Which of the following would not be considered a federal country?

A) India
B) United States
C) France
D) Germany

Question 20

According to the text, why might an authoritarian regime draft a constitution?

A) As a means to establish more governmental legitimacy
B) The United Nations requires a written constitution of all member-states.
C) A constitution would be a means to begin the process of democratization.
D) It would not.

Question 21

Law based on the Holy Book of Islam is known as:

A) Martial law
B) Shiite law
C) Talmudic law
D) Sharia law

Question 22

A system of government in which constitutional law is combined with the recognition of an official state religion and some use of religious beliefs or texts as foundation for law is known as:

A) Religiosity
B) Faith-centric politics
C) Religious indoctrination
D) Theocracy

Question 23

According to the text, why might religious law create tension in a country?

A) Citizens who are not of that religion are still subject to its laws.
B) The separation of church and state is necessary for development.
C) Religious law restricts enterprise and economic growth.
D) The predominant religion in a country can change with a change in demographics.

Question 24

Which of the following is not a potential negative effect of federalism?

A) Differences in regional development
B) Increase in ethnic tensions
C) Unifies a disparate polity
D) Increase in regionalism

Question 25

Which of the following political arguments would draw most directly on the principles of federalism?

A) Abortion should be illegal under federal law.
B) States should determine the legality of abortion within their own borders.
C) Abortion should be legal under federal law in all states.
D) Abortion should be illegal under religious law.

Question 26

According to the text, federalism has significantly influenced differences in regional and state development in which of the following countries?

A) Italy
B) Israel
C) India
D) China

Question 27

Who developed the decentralization theorem?

A) William Wallace
B) Wallace Oates
C) Daryl Hall
D) John Oates

Question 28

The idea that unelected judges and justices might "legislate from the bench" refers most directly to which of the following concerns:

A) Judicial politicking
B) Judicial sovereignty
C) Judicial review
D) Judicial activism

Question 29

What would be an example of a check on the legislative branch by the judicial branch?

A) Judicial politicking
B) Judicial sovereignty
C) Judicial review
D) Judicial activism

Question 30

Which scholar described the concept of juristocracy?

A) Ran Hirschl
B) Viktor Frankl
C) Alfred Stepan
D) Louis Brandeis

Question 31

Arguing how "other institutions" operate within federal systems, such as how political parties are structured, is the substance of the scholarship of:

A) Riker
B) Hirschl
C) Stepan
D) Rodden and Wibbels

Question 32

Both Riker and Stepan offer analyses of this:

A) constitutionalism
B) Unitary systems
C) The emergence of federal systems
D) Judicial activism

Question 33

What is distinctive about the British constitution? Comment with specific reference to how the British constitution can be changed.

Question 34

Identify three areas where federalism may lead to different outcomes than unitarism.

Question 35

What is the principle of constitutionalism, and to what extent does it relate specifically to the existence of a constitution?

Question 36

When an authoritarian regime replaces a democratic regime, in what ways might it handle the preexisting constitution?

Question 37

What is the principle of parliamentary sovereignty and how does it relate to the judicial branch?

Question 38

Define federalism and offer at least one characteristic that allows observers to distinguish a federal state from a unitary state.

Question 39

Name one federal country on each the following continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

Question 40

What did William Riker believe to be the cause or origin of federal government, and what did Alfred Stepan note in response to Riker?

Question 41

Are constitutions compatible with religious law, and why or why not?

Question 42

Describe the logic through which decentralized government can lead to improved governance.

Question 43

Identify several of the main features and purposes of constitutions.

Question 44

Explain the meaning of the phrase judicial review.

Question 45

Under what conditions might federalism be detrimental to an economy?

Question 46

Summarize the argument of Towards Juristocracy, by Ran Hirschl.

Question 47

Since constitutions typically make references to all branches of government-including executives and legislatures-why are judiciaries of particular importance for inclusion in a discussion of constitutions?

Question 48

What are the main causes of climate change and how can they be addressed?

Question 49

Discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of written and unwritten constitutions.

Question 50

According to scholars, what are the major advantages of federal systems? What, if any, are the disadvantages? Should all polities adopt federalism? Why or why not?

Question 51

What variables can account for the origins of federalism? Under what conditions might you expect a country today to move towards federalism, and why?

Question 52

Discuss the difference, if any, between judicial review and judicial activism

Question 53

Discuss how two major features of constitutional design-federalism/unitarism and judicial review-can have substantial impacts on individual rights. Use hypothetical or real-world empirical examples to illustrate your argument.