Deck 6: The Cultural Determinants of Democracy and Dictatorship

Question 1

Primordial cultural arguments regarding democracy state that any culture could be compatible with democratic institutions.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

One of the problems with the early forms of arguments about the cultural determinants of democracy is that they did not clearly specify what aspect of culture actually mattered for democracy to emerge or survive. Thus, their claims were not always presented in a falsifiable manner.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In the 1960s, a new group of scholars began studying the link between culture and democracy. Specifically, Almond and Verba used surveys to get information about how individuals in different countries felt about political institutions, actors, and processes. They claimed that the type of culture that is most compatible with democracy is

A) parochial culture.
B) subject culture.
C) participant culture.
D) American culture.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Almond and Verba studied political culture through the use of what?

A) case studies
B) statistics
C) surveys
D) experiments.
E) formal models

Question 5

In his books, Making Democracy Work and Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam highlights the importance of what factor when explaining why some democracies perform better than others?

A) wealth
B) religion
C) social capital
D) institutions

Question 6

In Making Democracy Work and Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam highlights the importance of social capital when explaining why some democracies perform better than others. His argument supports the results of the experiments discussed in Chapter 7 that suggest that if we assume that democratic institutions tend to require a particular type of behavior, then individuals in societies whose interactions already require this behavior in everyday interactions will find it easier to adopt and support democracy.

Question 7

Which of the following causal relationships have political scientists posited as existing between civic culture and democracy?

A) Civic culture causes the emergence of democracy.
B) Democracy causes the emergence of a civic culture.
C) Some argue that civic culture causes the emergence of democracy, but others argue that democracy causes the emergence of a civic culture.

Question 8

Which of the following have been considered to be a part of civic culture?

A) belief that individuals can influence political decisions
B) high support for the existing political system
C) high levels of interpersonal trust
D) preference for gradual societal change
E) high levels of life satisfaction
F) all of these

Question 9

The ______ story suggests that economic development produces cultural change that leads to democratization, while the _________ story economic development leads to democratization, which, in turn, leads to cultural change.

A) institutions; values
B) values; institutions
C) direct; indirect
D) indirect; direct

Question 10

If we found evidence that economic development influences democracy through culture, it would be consistent with which modernization story?

A) values
B) institutional
C) direct
D) indirect

Question 11

If we found evidence that economic development produces democratization, which then influences cultural change, it would be consistent with which modernization story?

A) values
B) institutional
C) direct
D) indirect

Question 12

If the effects of economic development on democracy disappear entirely once we control for, or take account of, cultural values, then we say that the relationship is ______ by cultural values.

A) dominated completely
B) overlapped partially
C) completely mediated
D) partially mediated

Question 13

According to the institutional story of modernization, cultural values are a consequence, not a cause, of democracy.

Question 14

Which of the following factors might limit the usefulness of surveys for drawing inferences about democratic stability?

A) Respondents in different countries are likely to understand the survey questions in very different ways, thus rendering their responses difficult to compare.
B) A country's experience with democracy might lead respondents to focus on different aspects of democracy.
C) Both factors are likely to limit the usefulness of surveys.

Question 15

Consider the following hypothesis: "Islamic countries are likely to have lower levels of democracy than non-Islamic countries do." What evidence would falsify it?

A) Islamic countries having a higher level of democracy
B) Islamic countries having a lower level of democracy
C) wealthy countries having a lower level of democracy
D) oil reliant countries having a higher level of democracy

Question 16

In a recent article published in World Politics, "Islam and Authoritarianism," M. Steven Fish hypothesizes that Islamic countries are likely to have lower levels of democracy than non-Islamic countries do. What is the dependent variable in this hypothesis?

A) whether a country is predominantly Muslim or not
B) a country's level of democracy

Question 17

In Table 7.2 in Chapter 7, examine the coefficients on the independent variable "Muslim majority" from Models 1 and 2. Which of the following statements best describes the results?

A) Having a Muslim majority is always statistically significant and makes a country less likely to become democratic.
B) Having a Muslim majority has a significant effect only in Model 1.
C) Having a Muslim majority has no effect (the effect is not statistically significant) once the levels of wealth and economic growth are taken into account in Model 2.
D) Both (B) and (C) above are accurate descriptions of the results in Table 7.2.

Question 18

When individuals in a variety of different types of societies were asked to take part in experiments in which they played the Ultimatum and Dictator Games, researchers found a surprising amount of variation in the types of offers that were made and accepted or rejected. Most of the variation could be explained by

A) gender
B) age
C) wealth
D) education
E) payoffs to cooperation
F) market integration
G) Both (E) and (F)

Question 19

The results of the experiments discussed in Chapter 7 suggest that when confronted with new situations, people react based on how they would normally behave in an analogous situation in their everyday lives. This suggests that if we assume that democratic institutions tend to require a particular type of behavior (for instance, a combination of cooperation, competition, and compromise), then individuals in societies whose interactions already require this behavior in everyday interactions will find it easier to adopt and support democracy.

Question 20

Political scientists have claimed that the link between culture and democracy is
Major premise: If Catholicism is incompatible with democracy, then Catholic countries are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Minor premise: Catholic countries today are more likely to be democracies than dictatorships.
Conclusion: Therefore, Catholicism is compatible with democracy.
-What form does this argument take?

A) affirming the antecedent
B) denying the antecedent
C) affirming the consequent
D) denying the consequent

Question 21

Political scientists have claimed that the link between culture and democracy is
Major premise: If Catholicism is incompatible with democracy, then Catholic countries are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Minor premise: Catholic countries today are more likely to be democracies than dictatorships.
Conclusion: Therefore, Catholicism is compatible with democracy.
-Is this argument valid or invalid?

A) Valid
B) Invalid

Question 22

Consider the following argument:
Major premise: If Islam is incompatible with democracy, then Islamic countries are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Minor premise: Islamic countries today are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Conclusion: Therefore, Islam is incompatible with democracy.
-What form does this argument take?

A) affirming the antecedent
B) denying the antecedent
C) affirming the consequent
D) denying the consequent

Question 23

Consider the following argument:
Major premise: If Islam is incompatible with democracy, then Islamic countries are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Minor premise: Islamic countries today are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Conclusion: Therefore, Islam is incompatible with democracy.
-Is this argument valid or invalid?

A) valid
B) invalid

Question 24

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-What is Fish's dependent variable?

A) democracy
B) war
C) civil war
D) economic development

Question 25

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-What is the key independent variable?

A) economic development
B) oil reliance
C) whether a country is predominantly Muslim or not
D) whether a country is a former British colony or not

Question 26

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-What is the main hypothesis of the article?

A) Wealthy countries have higher levels of democracy.
B) Islamic countries have higher levels of democracy.
C) Islamic countries have lower levels of democracy.
D) More oil reliant states have lower levels of democracy.
E) More oil reliant states have higher levels of democracy.

Question 27

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-Which of the following observations would falsify the main hypothesis of this article?

A) Islamic countries have a higher level of democracy.
B) Islamic countries have a lower level of democracy.
C) Wealthy countries have a lower level of democracy.
D) Oil reliant states have a higher level of democracy.

Question 28

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-What sign does Fish find for the coefficient on Islamic religious tradition? (Hint: See Table 3, column 1, on page 13 of the article).

A) positive
B) negative
C) neither positive nor negative

Question 29

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-Is the sign that Fish found on the coefficient on Islamic religious tradition what he had predicted he would find?

Question 30

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-Fish examines several arguments about why Islam might be bad for democracy. What are they?

A) Muslim societies are prone to violence.
B) Muslim societies have lower levels of interpersonal trust.
C) Muslim societies are less secular.
D) Muslim societies subordinate women.
E) All of these are arguments the author examines.

Question 31

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-According to Fish's findings (not his theories), what is the reason why Islamic societies have lower levels of democracy?

A) Muslim societies are prone to violence.
B) Muslim societies have lower levels of interpersonal trust.
C) Muslim societies are less secular.
D) Muslim societies subordinate women.

Question 32

Obtain a copy of the M. Steven Fish article, "Islam and Authoritarianism" from the journal World Politics 55, no. 1 (2002): 4-37, using your library resources. Skim the article.
-One of the conclusions that Fish reaches is that Islam is antithetical to democracy because women are not treated equally in Islamic countries. He reaches this conclusion while using Freedom House as his main measure of democracy. Why might it be problematic to use Freedom House to examine the impact that the unequal treatment of women in Islamic countries has on democracy? Choose the most appropriate answer below. (Hint: Find the complete list of questions that are used to create a country's Freedom House score at http://www.freedomhouse.org/. Identify any questions that make it problematic to use Freedom House scores to test Fish's statement that Islam is bad for democracy because of its unequal treatment of women.)

A) because Freedom House is a bad measure of democracy
B) because Freedom House is a measure of freedom, not democracy
C) because a country's Freedom House score is partially determined by how equally women are treated
D) because a country's Freedom House score does not take account of how equally women are treated

Question 33

In the experiments discussed in Chapter 7, social scientists had subjects in a variety of countries play the "Ultimatum" and "Dictator" games. They found that

A) the experimental results matched the theoretical predictions of how purely self-interested actors would behave.
B) the experimental results were similar across a wide range of industrialized democracies.
C) the experimental results varied greatly across a range of small-scale societies.
D) the scholars found all of the above to be true.
E) the scholars found only (B) and (C) to be true.

Question 34

Some scholars argue that one aspect of culture that is important for democracy is how many different cultures exist within a single society. The idea is that too much cultural diversity can have a negative effect on the emergence or sustainability of democracy because it is harder for the citizens to coordinate and reach compromises on policies that will affect the entire country. In Table 7.3 in Chapter 7, what effect does the number of different cultures (measured by ethnic groups, religious groups, or cultural groups) have on the probability that a democracy will stay a democracy? (Hint: you will have to look at Models 3, 4, and 5.)

A) All of the independent variables in question have a negative and significant effect on the probability that a country can sustain democracy.
B) All of the independent variables in question have a positive and significant effect on the probability that a country can sustain democracy.
C) None of the independent variables in question has a significant effect on the probability that a country can sustain democracy.
D) The number of religious groups (Model 4) does not have a significant effect on the probability that a country can sustain democracy, but the other two measures (the number of ethnic groups [Model 3] and the number of cultural groups [Model 5]) both have a negative and significant effect.

Question 35

Look at the results in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Culture and Democratic Survival
Dependent variable: Probability of Democratic Survival


$\begin{array}{lc}\hline \text { Independent variables } & \text { Model 1 } \\\hline & \\\text { Muslim majority } & -0.46(0.28) \\\text { Catholic majority } & -0.41^{*}(0.20) \\\text { GDP per capita } & 0.0001^{* *}(0.00003) \\\text { Growth in GDP per capita } & 0.02^{* * *}(0.01) \\\text { Oil producer } & 0.43(0.31) \\\text { Effective number of ethnic groups } & -0.09 * * *(0.05) \\\text { Constant } & 1.88^{*}(0.28) \\\text { Observations } & 1784 \\\text { Log-likelihood } & -161.41 \\\hline \text { Robust standard errors in parentheses. "greater than } 90 \% \text { significant; } \\{ }^{* *} \text { greater than } 95 \% \text { significant; }{ }^{* *} \text { greater than } 99 \% \text { significant. } \\\hline\end{array}$

-Based on these results, does having a Muslim majority significantly increase, decrease, or have no effect on the likelihood that a democracy will remain a democracy?

A) It makes it more likely.
B) It makes it less likely.
C) It has no effect.

Question 36

Look at the results in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Culture and Democratic Survival
Dependent variable: Probability of Democratic Survival


$\begin{array}{lc}\hline \text { Independent variables } & \text { Model 1 } \\\hline & \\\text { Muslim majority } & -0.46(0.28) \\\text { Catholic majority } & -0.41^{*}(0.20) \\\text { GDP per capita } & 0.0001^{* *}(0.00003) \\\text { Growth in GDP per capita } & 0.02^{* * *}(0.01) \\\text { Oil producer } & 0.43(0.31) \\\text { Effective number of ethnic groups } & -0.09 * * *(0.05) \\\text { Constant } & 1.88^{*}(0.28) \\\text { Observations } & 1784 \\\text { Log-likelihood } & -161.41 \\\hline \text { Robust standard errors in parentheses. "greater than } 90 \% \text { significant; } \\{ }^{* *} \text { greater than } 95 \% \text { significant; }{ }^{* *} \text { greater than } 99 \% \text { significant. } \\\hline\end{array}$

-Based on these results, does an increase in gross domestic product per capita significantly increase, decrease, or have no effect on the likelihood that a democracy will remain a democracy?

A) It makes it more likely.
B) It makes it less likely.
C) It has no effect.

Question 37

Look at the results in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Culture and Democratic Survival
Dependent variable: Probability of Democratic Survival


$\begin{array}{lc}\hline \text { Independent variables } & \text { Model 1 } \\\hline & \\\text { Muslim majority } & -0.46(0.28) \\\text { Catholic majority } & -0.41^{*}(0.20) \\\text { GDP per capita } & 0.0001^{* *}(0.00003) \\\text { Growth in GDP per capita } & 0.02^{* * *}(0.01) \\\text { Oil producer } & 0.43(0.31) \\\text { Effective number of ethnic groups } & -0.09 * * *(0.05) \\\text { Constant } & 1.88^{*}(0.28) \\\text { Observations } & 1784 \\\text { Log-likelihood } & -161.41 \\\hline \text { Robust standard errors in parentheses. "greater than } 90 \% \text { significant; } \\{ }^{* *} \text { greater than } 95 \% \text { significant; }{ }^{* *} \text { greater than } 99 \% \text { significant. } \\\hline\end{array}$

-Imagine you are watching a political talk show (perhaps one of the ones that are shown on Sunday morning, or perhaps The Daily Show) and the pundits are discussing problems with the democratization process in Iraq. One of the guests claims that a key factor making it unlikely that democracy could survive in Iraq (even if it were established there). is that there are too many different ethnic groups in the country. Does the empirical evidence in Table 1 support such a claim?

A) Yes, because the coefficient on the Muslim majority variable is positive and significant.
B) No, because the coefficient on Effective number of ethnic groups implies that increasing the number of ethnic groups makes democratic survival more likely.
C) Sort of, because the coefficient on "Effective number of ethnic groups" is mildly significant (only one star) and it implies that increasing the number of ethnic groups makes democratic survival less likely.

Question 38

Why are some countries democracies and some countries not? Evaluate the logic and evidence behind explanations pointing to the importance of (a) wealth, (b) production profile (that is, a polity's economic structure), and (c) political culture.