Deck 12: Political Science: Who Gets What, When, and How

Question 1

The existence of discrete legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government in America is a manifestation of:

A) separation of powers
B) separation of politics from government
C) separation of state from national power
D) the U.S. constitution's deep roots in the British history
E) the founding fathers' prioritization of governmental efficiency

Answer 1

separation of powers

Question 2

The NGO called Freedom House is directly involved in trying to assess the:

A) human rights abuses of Communist countries only
B) human rights abuses in Southern hemisphere LDCs
C) relative health of democracy in all parts of the world
D) relative health of free market economics in all parts of the world
E) none of the above

Answer 2

relative health of democracy in all parts of the world

Question 3

The trust of American citizens in their government has risen slowly but measurably along with the expansion of the successes of the U.S. economy.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A feudal government based on heredity in which political authority is exercised by a powerful military clan leader is referred to as a:

A) politburo
B) Supreme Soviet
C) shogunate
D) caudillismo
E) none of the above

Question 5

Which model of U.S. democracy relies most heavily on the viability of political parties?

A) democratic elitism model
B) multi-party system
C) pluralist model
D) parliamentary model
E) republican model

Question 6

Popular sovereignty and majority rule are characteristic of:

A) NGOs
B) governmental institutions
C) democracies
D) dictatorships
E) MNCs

Question 7

The Russian people still wait in vain for their first taste of a competitive vote for the office of Russian president.

Question 8

The interlocking directorate of tight political party control over the operations of governmental institutions described in this chapter dealt with which country?

A) China
B) Japan
C) Russia
D) Soviet Union
E) Mongolia

Question 9

Which of the following countries has a parliamentary system of government?

A) Brazil
B) Russia
C) United States
D) United Kingdom
E) none of the above

Question 10

The greater the outcomes at stake in any conflict, the more committed will the various competing groups become. This insight is best illustrated in chapter twelve by:

A) the election of president Fernando Henrique Cardoso in Brazil
B) the new constitution proposed by Boris Yeltsin in 1993
C) Jesse Jackson's favoring of affirmative action in the U.S.
D) the politics of medical malpractice lawsuits in the U.S.
E) the politics of racial policy in the U.S.

Question 11

Policies attempted by __________________fell under the rubrics of glasnost, demokratizatsia, and perestroika.

A) Boris Yeltsin
B) Deng Xiaoping
C) Vladimir Putin
D) Mao Zedong
E) none of the above

Question 12

The power of judicial review is one enjoyed by the U.S. Supreme Court but not possessed by the top court in the United Kingdom.

Question 13

The motto emblazoned on Brazil's flag suggests quite strongly that this is a country which values liberty or freedom more than it values order and progress.

Question 14

Despite the fact that the U.S. occupied Japan during its post-WW II reconstruction, the organizational structure of Japan's government actually approximates that of the U.K. much more than that of America.

Question 15

British history and Russian history share a similar scenario in which their respective monarchies gradually made accommodations to public demands for a voice in the governing process, thus allowing the royals to remain intact as cultural symbols rather than political decision-makers.

Question 16

This chapter suggested that modern American liberalism favors significant governmental intervention in the economy, but little governmental intervention into popular moral or intellectual affairs.

Question 17

The institution of government constitutes a:

A) cultural universal
B) cultural ethnocentricity
C) feature unique to democracies
D) feature unique to wealthy countries only
E) variable that has nothing to do with the political process

Question 18

In which country did non-elected military and elected civilian governments share time most equitably during the twentieth century?

A) Brazil
B) China
C) Mexico
D) Japan
E) Cuba

Question 19

Which concept comes closest to the essence of what it is that fascinates political scientists?

A) cooperative behavior
B) political parties
C) competition for power
D) ethical issues
E) historical case studies

Question 20

Governments differ from other forms of social institutions because they can make:

A) voluntary compliance rules
B) authoritative rules
C) flexible rules
D) popular sovereignty
E) popular consultations

Question 21

Because the Vietnam War taught the pentagon and the U.S. government powerful lessons about the risks of allowing journalists freedom to roam in a war zone, the government made sure that it did not repeat similar mistakes in America's next big war Operation Desert Storm).

Question 22

American liberals tend to oppose affirmative action policies while their conservative counterparts tend to favor affirmative action.

Question 23

The 74-year rule of communism in the Soviet Union during most of the twentieth century consisted of a brutal dictatorship that engaged in extensive human rights violations while posing as a "People's Republic."