Deck 8: Key Dilemmas: Political Form, Culture, and Values

Question 1

That values, attitudes, habits, and behavior patterns are important to understanding a country refers to the idea of ______.

A) political culture
B) political realism
C) interest articulation
D) interest group politics

Answer 1

political culture

Question 2

Which of the following is not a central characteristic of polyarchal government?

A) Citizens and government must strive for the common good.
B) The belief that all politics is local.
C) Government must accept that important areas of life exist outside the public sphere.
D) The process of accommodation is important.

Answer 2

The belief that all politics is local.

Question 3

The idea that political power is distributed between localities and a central government is called ______.

A) deunified government
B) devolution
C) federalism
D) constitutionalism

Answer 3

federalism

Question 4

The author of The Clash of Civilizations is ______.

A) Samuel P. Huntington
B) Benjamin Page
C) Robert Inglehart
D) Robert L. Holmes

Question 5

In 1956, which three countries tried to seize control of the Suez Canal from Egypt?

A) Israel, France, and Germany
B) France, Italy, and Great Britain
C) Israel, the United States, and Great Britain
D) Israel, France, and Great Britain

Question 6

Which of the following does not have a unitary government?

A) Japan
B) France
C) United States
D) None of these

Question 7

The idea that power is divided between branches of government is called ______.

A) limited government
B) separation of powers
C) unified government
D) divided government

Question 8

The idea that people vote directly on legislation is often referred to as ______.

A) direct democracy
B) representative democracy
C) unified democracy
D) communism

Question 9

The surrendering of power to local authorities by a central government is called ______.

A) devolution
B) localism
C) integrative government
D) decentralized government

Question 10

In 1956, the Soviet Union brutally repressed an uprising in what Eastern European country?

A) Poland
B) Hungary
C) East Germany
D) Greece

Question 11

In the 1970s, the CIA worked covertly to overthrow the government of Salvador Allende, president of ______.

A) Brazil
B) Spain
C) Argentina
D) Chile

Question 12

Which of the following is incorrect?

A) The nomination and ultimately the election of Donald Trump as president reaffirmed the notion that the American electorate was becoming increasingly divided on a number of issues.
B) Many public surveys confirm that American citizens are remarkably ignorant of political facts.
C) Public opinion polls in America support the idea that there is little support for certain basic values.
D) We have little evidence in the matter of public opinion in most communist and developing countries.

Question 13

________________ are important beliefs about goals, principles, and policies that are worthwhile in public affairs.

Question 14

In 1975, the Soviet Union and the United States signed the _________________, which included provisions for respecting human rights.

Question 15

In 1968, the Soviet Union invaded ___________________ to turn back an attempt to liberalize the regime there.

Question 16

_____________refers to government provisions for, or contributions to, individual needs for employment, income, food, housing, health care, and literacy.

Question 17

A ____________ is the individual or group that expresses and shapes public values, struggles for power, and decides issues of public policy.

Question 18

______________ is the expression of political actors' needs, interests, and desires.

Question 19

What is political culture, and why is it important to understanding how politics works?

Question 20

Discuss the difference between a government of separated powers and one of connected powers. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each?

Question 21

Define the ideas of direct democracy and representative democracy. Explain the relative strengths and weaknesses of each theory of democracy.

Question 22

What is meant by the culture wars, and how does it affect U.S. politics?

Question 23

What role does public opinion play in politics? What role should it play? Contrast the different roles of public opinion in democracies versus communist regimes.

Question 24

Many political leaders express a belief in peace, yet the twentieth century is littered with examples of wars. Why is this the case? Discuss the relationship between the desire for peace and the demand for security.

Question 25

How might developed liberal democracies and communist developing countries differ in their conception of justice? What could explain this difference of opinion?

Question 26

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of majority rule?

Question 27

In his famous book The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel P. Huntington predicted that with the fall of communism the world would enter into a period of conflict between civilizations -- Western, Islamic, Latin American, among others. In your judgment, has Huntington's prediction, in fact, come true? Does his prediction have validity? Why or why not?