Deck 1: Politics: Setting the Stage

Question 1

A political scientist that focuses on how Congress passes legislation would best fit in this subfield:

A) American state and local politics
B) American public law
C) American political institutions
D) comparative politics
E) political theory

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The Polish-American candidate who appeals for support based on her family name is seeking legitimacy based on _______________.

Answer 2

identity

Question 3

The text calls the "best common solution to a common problem": __________________.

Answer 3

public choice

Question 4

"By results", "by habit", "by identity", and "by procedures" are all _______________ of legitimacy.

Question 5

Power that is exercised through making the alternative so unattractive that only one reasonable option remains is called __________________.

Question 6

Politics always involves making decisions binding on a group.

Question 7

A central theme of the text is that politics is best viewed as a ____________________.

Question 8

Theory or analysis that specifies what OUGHT to happen or be created is labeled _______________.

Question 9

Political scientists use "qualitative" and "quantitative" labels for different kinds of analysis. Qualitative analysis parallels interpretative study while quantitative parallels __________________ studies.

Question 10

Politics always involves power.

Question 11

A government that is seen as legitimate because it was democratically elected has this source of legitimacy:

A) legitimacy by results
B) legitimacy by religious identity
C) legitimacy by ethnic identity
D) legitimacy by habit
E) legitimacy by procedures

Question 12

Chapter 1 takes up the issue of how we determine WHO has political power. It cites studies that look at: reputation, those actively engaged in policy-making, and a third notion that focuses on those who ______________________________.

Question 13

Power may be exercised by: ________________, persuasion, or the construction of incentives.

Question 14

Power can be exercised directly by taking action to make something happen, or it can be the result of others anticipating such action and acting without a direct order. The second type of power is called ____________________.

Question 15

The public's sense that those with state power achieved power by proper means and warrant respect in the exercise of that power is called _____________________.

Question 16

The meaning of the word "state" typically used in political science is:

A) a nation
B) what is commonly referred to as a country
C) a sub-national unit in a country
D) a way or form of being
E) a combination of political units seeking to form a government

Question 17

Apart from the important efforts to see both sides of a question and keeping emotions low key, it is crucial to be precise about the meanings of the ____________ that we use.

Question 18

The key actor in this text is the:

A) group
B) community
C) individual
D) state
E) universe

Question 19

Manifest power is:

A) based on an observable action by A that leads B to do what A wants
B) power that is hard to detect
C) the only type of power exercised in authoritarian regimes
D) a type of power exclusive to political institutions
E) an action by B with disregard for the consequences to A

Question 20

The special kind of power government has is called _______________.

Question 21

The review of "subfields" in political science suggests that the political scientist has a very narrow range of subject matter for his/her analytic work.

Question 22

Theory is an analytic "beginning point" where the analyst makes an initial guess at what he/she may find when they investigate.

Question 23

Explain why legitimacy plays such an important role in the exercise of power.

Question 24

Pure tyranny is rare and is difficult to maintain. At the same time, the making of common policy generally means that one part of a group will be dominating another part to at least some extent.

Question 25

Power is defined as the ability of one person or group to get another to do what the first wishes by use of coercive means.

Question 26

Compare and contrast how "interpretivist" and "behaviorism" political scientists approach the analysis of politics.

Question 27

For political scientists, authority and legitimacy are the same thing.

Question 28

"State" in political science means sovereign state, and not, for example, North Dakota.

Question 29

Politics does not spill over beyond what we typically call government.

Question 30

Critical Thinking
The textbook author offers a paradox: given that people vary little in physical and mental attributes, why is it that political power is so universal and often concentrated in small numbers of people? Why are so many people organized into large political units run by small numbers of political leaders with a great deal of control over individual lives?

Question 31

If a theory sets out to specify what IS in the most precise, neutral, and observational way, it is called empirical theory.

Question 32

Implicit power is evident when someone does something that has not been clearly signaled or directed by the person or group with power, but which is presumed to be desired by that person in power.