Deck 11: Political Parties, Party Systems, and Interest Groups

Question 1

Which of the following would not be considered a dominant-party state as of 2015?

A) Ghana
B) Chad
C) Ethiopia
D) South Africa

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A political organization that seeks to influence policy through getting candidates and members elected or appointed to public office is called:

A) An interest group
B) A political party
C) A coalition
D) A party system

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true of party platforms?

A) They define a party's particular set of principles
B) They are not subject to change
C) They do not represent the will of the party
D) They are generally the same from party to party

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The National Rifle Association is an example of:

A) An interest group
B) A political party
C) A coalition
D) A party system

Question 5

What is the main way that interest groups influence policy?

A) Through boycott
B) Through campaign donations
C) Through private fundraising
D) Through lobbying

Question 6

Civil society is made up of:

A) Interest groups
B) Volunteer organizations
C) Social organizations
D) All of the above

Question 7

What is the process by which individuals' preferences are brought together to make collective decision, often through political parties and the party system?

A) Interest articulation
B) Interest aggregation
C) Mass parties
D) Catch-all parties

Question 8

The Communist Party in China is what type of party?

A) Elite party
B) Catch-all party
C) Mass party
D) Common party

Question 9

Which scholar is noted for his critique on the oligarchic nature of political parties?

A) David St. Hubbins
B) Robert Nozick
C) Michael Moore
D) Robert Michels

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true of dominant-party systems?

A) Only one party participates meaningfully
B) Only occur in authoritarian countries
C) Only one party can compete
D) Only occur in hybrid regimes

Question 11

China, North Korea, and Cuba are all current examples of what specific type of party system?

A) Single-party system
B) Divided party system
C) Multiparty system
D) Two-party system

Question 12

Which of the following claims has recently been used in defense of single-party systems?

A) Voters cannot be trusted to elect effective leaders
B) Justification of a regime's continuation in power
C) Multiparty systems can be divisive
D) One party is inherently more effective that multiple parties

Question 13

Which country is home to the most influential and important dominant-party system in the world?

A) Afghanistan
B) Brazil
C) China
D) Russia

Question 14

Which of the following is a defining characteristic of dominant-party systems?

A) Lack of competitiveness in elections
B) Lack of free and fair elections
C) Lack of citizen voting rights
D) Lack of campaign funding for opposition parties

Question 15

Single-member districts are likely to lead to which type of party system?

A) Single-party system
B) Dominant-party system
C) Multiparty system
D) Two-party system

Question 16

A multiparty system with many small parties would be considered:

A) Concentrated
B) Bloated
C) Democratic
D) Fragmented

Question 17

The measure designed to capture the number of meaningful parties in a party system is called:

A) Cumulative party metrics
B) Aggregate effective parties
C) Effective number of parties
D) Gini index of party representation

Question 18

Which of the following is an aspect of party system institutionalization?

A) The internal stability of parties over time
B) The cohesiveness and coherence of party platforms over time
C) The persistence and electoral success of parties over time
D) All of the above

Question 19

What is it called when there is a formal, established relationship between certain interest groups and state power?

A) Capitalism
B) Pluralism
C) Cronyism
D) Corporatism

Question 20

To what term does the idea that interest groups compete in a "marketplace of ideas" refer?

A) Capitalism
B) Pluralism
C) Cronyism
D) Corporatism

Question 21

Russia has what kind of party system?

A) A strongly institutionalized party system
B) A corporatist party system
C) An inchoate multiparty system
D) A poorly institutionalized party system with authoritarian tendencies

Question 22

Which Latin American country was noted for an authoritarian form of corporatism that lasted for over half of the twentieth century?

A) Brazil
B) Argentina
C) Cuba
D) Mexico

Question 23

Why would a proportional representation election system generally lead to a multiparty system?

A) Proportional representation favors large parties that can win a plurality of the votes
B) Proportional representation exacerbates divisions within society
C) Proportional representation reflects the overall distribution of support for multiple parties
D) It would not

Question 24

To what does "Duverger's Law" refer most directly?

A) Multiparty systems tend to emerge where elections are based on proportional representation.
B) Multiparty systems tend to emerge where elections are based on a simple plurality vote.
C) Two-party systems tend to emerge where elections are based on proportional representation.
D) Two-party systems tend to emerge where elections are based on a simple plurality vote.

Question 25

Which scholar argued that different party systems emerge in part due to differences in ideology?

A) Giovanni Sartori
B) Mancur Olson
C) Girolamo Savonarola
D) Jean-Paul Sartre

Question 26

The median voter is also known as:

A) The swing vote
B) The base vote
C) The strategic vote
D) The aggregate vote

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of strategic voting?

A) John refrains from voting in boycott of the candidates.
B) John votes for his second-favorite candidate who might win, rather than his preferred candidate who has little chance.
C) John votes for his preferred candidate to win the seat, despite the fact that his second-favorite candidate has a better chance.
D) John votes for his least-favorite candidate in the hopes that this will discipline the party of his most-favored candidate.

Question 28

Anthony Downs's work on the median voter model influenced the study of what theory?

A) Structured voting theory
B) Party allegiance theory
C) Rational choice theory
D) Irrational choice theory

Question 29

The work of Mancur Olson focuses on the study of which of the following themes?

A) Party-system development
B) Strategic voting
C) Collective action
D) Party action and partisan reaction

Question 30

A passage in which famous American work argued that it is natural for people to form different "factions"?

A) The Federalist Papers
B) The Emancipation Proclamation
C) The Sixth Amendment
D) None of the above

Question 31

What is the distinction between a dominant-party state and a single-party state?

Question 32

How do peak organizations work to facilitate bargaining?

Question 33

According to Robert Michels, what is the tendency of all political parties?

Question 34

Define elite parties, mass parties, and catch-all parties.

Question 35

Give two examples of a current dominant-party system plus one example of a country that was once a dominant-party system, but is no longer.

Question 36

What is Duverger's Law?

Question 37

Explain the significance and meaning of the median voter theorem.

Question 38

Explain what it means if a party system is characterized as a "two-and-a-half" party system?

Question 39

What is the difference between an interest group and a political party?

Question 40

Define pluralism and identify at least one prominent scholar associated with this perspective.

Question 41

Define corporatism and give an example of one country where it may be found.

Question 42

Give one example of a scholar who has brought a rational choice approach to questions of party systems and interest groups, and state what the rationalist argument is.

Question 43

In what ways can the work of Mancur Olson be seen as a critique of pluralism?

Question 44

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

Question 45

Explain the conceptual difference between pluralism and corporatism, and identify the relative advantages and disadvantages of each model.

Question 46

What arguments have been used and are used today to legitimate or justify single-party systems? Using examples, argue why one of these arguments is most compelling, or show why none can be supported.

Question 47

Describe the key features of an institutionalized party system, with a particular emphasis on the characteristics of political parties in such systems. Discuss whether there might be any disadvantages from a party system that is highly institutionalized.

Question 48

Offer two distinct perspectives on what gives rise to different types of party systems. In doing so, draw upon the arguments of Maurice Duverger and Giovanni Sartori.

Question 49

Consider the relationship between party systems and patterns of interest group representation. By your logic, is pluralism especially well-suited for representation in certain types of party systems, and corporatism well suited for representation in other types of systems? Elaborate on your reasoning and why you find certain patterns of interest group representation to be optimal in certain types of party systems, or why you find there to be no connection. You may use country examples to illustrate your answer.