Deck 5: Electoral and Party Systems

Question 1

In the United States, longer confirmation times for judges, more frequent deadlock in congress, and budgetary difficulties-among other things-are mostly due to ______.

A) the two-party system
B) increased party polarization
C) the need for a third party
D) public skepticism

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A parliamentary system is one in which ______.

A) executive and legislative branches are fused, and executive functions are led by a majority party or coalition
B) citizens directly elect members of legislature and the head of government at the same time, with an electoral law that ensures an existence of a majority for the leader-elect
C) a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter being responsible to the legislature
D) executive and legislative branches are separate, along with their functions and responsibilities

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The head of state is a political figure ______.

A) whose power has far outstripped that of the legislative branch
B) representing the entire country, sometimes with little governing power
C) who is in charge of the functioning and day-to-day affairs of the state
D) who is typically the leader of a political party

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The political figure who is in charge of the functioning and day-to-day affairs of the state is referred to as ______.

A) an imperial president
B) the head of state
C) the head of government
D) the party leader

Question 5

The diminishment of the power of the British monarchy, and the evolution to its present day status, began with which of the following?

A) the English Civil War
B) the Foundation of the Church of England
C) the Breakup of the British Empire
D) the Magna Carta

Question 6

A legislature or parliament that has one house is known as ______.

A) unicameral
B) bicameral
C) unimodal
D) bimodal

Question 7

In general, proportional representation systems assign political parties a number of seats in the legislature based on the ______.

A) share of the vote they receive
B) whether candidates win a plurality of votes for each given seat
C) voters' choice of political parties and individual candidates
D) voters' rank-ordered preferences for representation

Question 8

In order to form a government in a parliamentary system, which of the following must occur first?

A) A political party leader becomes prime minister.
B) A political party wins a majority of seats.
C) The prime minister selects his or her cabinet.
D) The prime minister seeks the blessing of the head of state.

Question 9

Party discipline refers to ______.

A) the cohesion of a party's ideology or platform
B) the ability to prevent party members from engaging in corruption
C) party members behaving in sober fashion in the legislature
D) the ability to force party members to vote a certain way in the legislature

Question 10

Which of the following feature in a system of government best allows voters to easily know who is or is NOT to blame for legislative failures?

A) a fused executive and legislature, in which the executive cannot veto legislation
B) a separate executive and legislature in which legislation depends on a variety of independent actors
C) centralized power or strong party discipline that stifles minority dissent
D) the presence of an upper house in the legislature that acts as a rubber stamp

Question 11

In a parliamentary system, which of the following government formations should provide the least stability?

A) majority coalition
B) minority coalition
C) majority party
D) minority party

Question 12

In a parliamentary system, which of the following government formations should provide the most stability?

A) majority coalition
B) minority coalition
C) majority party
D) minority party

Question 13

In Italy, if a government fails, which of the following officials can appoint a new prime minister or call for new elections?

A) Prime Minister
B) President
C) Senate
D) Council of Ministers

Question 14

In Italy, the Council of Ministers refers to ______.

A) ex officio members of the Senate
B) the cabinet
C) the lower house of parliament
D) the upper house of parliament

Question 15

Which of the following is a state system in which executive and legislative branches are separate, along with their functions and responsibilities?

A) parliamentary
B) semi-parliamentary
C) semi-presidential
D) presidential

Question 16

In the United States and Germany, the lower houses of the legislative branch represent the ______.

A) lower classes
B) upper classes
C) general population
D) states

Question 17

Unlike in Germany, the upper house in the U.S. legislature ______.

A) is directly elected
B) is not directly elected
C) represents the states
D) does not represent the states

Question 18

In the American presidential system, the president may introduce legislation ______.

A) through executive decree
B) directly to initiate the legislative process
C) through the various agencies in the executive branch
D) indirectly through political allies in Congress

Question 19

An 'imperial presidency' refers to a political figure ______.

A) whose power has far outstripped that of the legislative branch
B) representing the entire country, sometimes with little governing power
C) who is in charge of the functioning and day-to-day affairs of the state
D) who is typically the leader of a political party

Question 20

The premise of checks and balances refers to the ______.

A) intrinsic complementary structure of legislative and executive branches
B) process of setting a budget between executive and legislative branches
C) ways in which different branches of government may curtail each other's power.
D) implicit division between legislative and executive branches even in parliamentary systems.

Question 21

Though it is Congress' power alone to declare war, the President serves in the role as the United States' ______.

A) symbolic head of state
B) policy and agenda-setter
C) commander-in-chief
D) comforter-in-chief

Question 22

Unlike in parliamentary systems, the president in presidential systems is often ______.

A) a ceremonial head of state
B) the focus of politics in a country
C) acts as the head of government exclusively
D) the only popularly or directly elected figure

Question 23

The annual State of the Union address is an exercise of the U.S. president's role as ______.

A) symbolic head of state
B) policy and agenda-setter
C) commander-in-chief
D) comforter-in-chief

Question 24

Which of the following feature in a system of government makes it difficult for voters to easily know who is or is NOT to blame for political failures?

A) a fused executive and legislature, in which the executive cannot veto legislation
B) separate executive and legislative branches in which legislation depends on a variety of independent actors with often equal powers
C) centralized power or strong party discipline that stifles minority dissent
D) the presence of an upper house in the legislature that acts as a rubber stamp

Question 25

The APSA committee's call for "responsible party government" in the 1950s referred to ______.

A) political parties formally taking on greater political power
B) an eventual evolution of government to a parliamentary system
C) the responsibilities of parties to act as a check on executive power
D) political parties taking on a greater role in linking citizens to government

Question 26

Which of the following is argued to be a disadvantage of presidential systems?

A) a different pattern of recruitment for executive leaders
B) division of power between the executive and legislature so that the parliament and the majority party do not hold too much power
C) predictability in terms of how long elected officials serve
D) a single leader who can claim to represent the whole country

Question 27

The system of government in Fifth Republic France is characterized as a ______.

A) presidential system
B) presidential system with parliamentary leadership
C) parliamentary system
D) parliamentary system with presidential leadership

Question 28

Though James Madison may NOT have supported the idea of political parties, he admits that ______.

A) "democracy is unworkable save in terms of parties"
B) they are "sown in the nature of man"
C) they are "sores" that threaten government
D) they hold governments together

Question 29

Which political scientist argued that political parties are effectively a vehicle for office seekers?

A) John Aldrich
B) Anthony Downs
C) Giovanni Sartori
D) Maurice Duverger

Question 30

In arguing why parties form and exist, Downs argues that parties ______.

A) serve politicians as a tool through which politicians can seek office and hold it
B) are chiefly vote seeking organizations and not much more than that
C) are instruments for the organization of the public
D) are some combination of vote, office, and policy seeking

Question 31

The theory that single member district, or first-past-the-post, electoral systems lead to a two-party system is known as ______.

A) Michel's Law
B) Aldrich's Law
C) Duverger's Law
D) Sartori's Law

Question 32

Which of the following is argued to be an advantage of presidential systems?

A) a merger of the symbolic and political aspects of the executive in a single person
B) checks and balances between the different branches of government
C) a different pattern of recruitment for executive leaders
D) fixed terms and the need for a vice-president

Question 33

Presidential power in the United States has grown largely as a result of ______.

A) congress' inability to act swiftly
B) periodic economic and military crises
C) congress' constant checking of executive powers
D) enumerated powers in the constitution

Question 34

In the United States and Germany, the upper houses of the legislative branch represent ______.

A) the lower classes
B) the upper classes
C) the general population
D) the states

Question 35

A head of state can also be a head of government, and vice versa.

Question 36

In a parliamentary system, members of parliament as well as the executive are elected independently.

Question 37

In parliamentary systems, the existence of an upper house can at times make the legislative process difficult.

Question 38

Minority parties have little real power in parliaments.

Question 39

Despite the advantages of a parliamentary system of government, Italian politics are very chaotic.

Question 40

In presidential systems, the cabinet is tied to the legislature.

Question 41

The balance of power between executive and legislative branches in presidential systems can ebb and flow.

Question 42

Political parties are an essential part of forming and organizing governments in both presidential and parliamentary systems.

Question 43

In parliamentary systems, upper houses serve the function of assent in the legislative process.

Question 44

In a parliamentary system, the executive branch is made up of the cabinet, who are themselves usually members of the legislature.

Question 45

Explain the difference between Proportional Representation and "Winner Take All" elections, and the types of outcomes they produce. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of these systems? Based on your analysis, make an argument as to which system you think is best, and why.

Question 46

What is the nature and advantage of checks and balances in presidential systems of government? What are the disadvantages? Does this suggest that presidential systems are superior to parliamentary ones, or just the opposite? Why?

Question 47

Are presidential systems of government more advantageous than parliamentary systems, or is it the other way around? Why is this so? Formulate an argument that outlines pros and cons using concrete examples from history and/or the real world.

Question 48

What is the purpose of political parties? How or why are they formed? What are the advantages and disadvantages of parties and party politics in the context of government?

Question 49

Can you envision a modern society or political system without political parties of any kind? What might such a system look like? What kind of challenges might this society face, or would the absence of party politics preclude challenges? Provide conceptual examples to support your argument.