Deck 5: Executive Authority in Europe

Question 1

All of the following are key features of democracy EXCEPT

A) private property and free markets.
B) competitive elections.
C) freedom of speech.
D) freedom of assembly.
E) right to oppose the government.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

"Deparliamentization" suggests that

A) courts are taking away powers from parliaments.
B) national parliaments are losing power to the European Union.
C) parliaments are becoming more fragmented.
D) voters are turning out less for parliamentary elections.
E) people trust parliaments less and less.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

National parliaments, more than European-level institutions, tend to be interested in

A) monetary policy.
B) supranationalism.
C) subsidiarity.
D) deparliamentization.
E) budget austerity.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Party discipline

A) is not a feature of democracies.
B) can be used only in a parliamentary system.
C) weakens the powers of political parties.
D) weakens the power of individual MPs.
E) is imposed by voters on parties they do not like.

Question 5

The 2010 elections in Great Britain were interesting because

A) they were the first ones conducted under a proportional representation system.
B) they were the first ones conducted under an alternative vote system.
C) they upended the traditional majoritarian system of British government.
D) the ruling party won for a record fourth time in a row.
E) the party with the most votes ended up with fewer seats than the second-place party.

Question 6

Coalition governments are often found in which country?

A) The United States
B) Great Britain
C) Greece
D) Germany
E) None of the above

Question 7

A "grand coalition" of the two largest parties governed which country from 2005-2009?

A) Germany
B) Poland
C) Great Britain
D) France
E) Sweden

Question 8

Coalition governments

A) rarely last over a year.
B) have become increasingly common in the 2000s.
C) are a feature of a consensus system.
D) simplify the legislative process.
E) are typically formed between the two largest parties.

Question 9

Under bicameralism

A) two houses of parliament have equal power.
B) both houses of parliament must agree on the prime minister.
C) one house of parliament is unelected and one is elected.
D) one house of parliament may be weaker than the other one.
E) there is a president and a prime minister.

Question 10

In most proportional representation systems, voters

A) vote twice.
B) vote for a candidate.
C) rank order their choices.
D) elect one member of parliament from their district.
E) vote for a party.

Question 11

Single-member district plurality voting can be found in

A) Germany.
B) Great Britain.
C) Spain.
D) Italy.
E) Turkey.

Question 12

Two-ballot plurality voting is unique to

A) France.
B) Ireland.
C) Turkey.
D) Greece.
E) Germany.

Question 13

Germany's voting system is known as

A) two-ballot plurality.
B) single transferable vote.
C) personalized proportional representation.
D) open-list proportional representation.
E) alternative vote.

Question 14

A party list

A) is the list of a party's representatives in parliament.
B) rank orders the candidates of a party.
C) is a feature of two-ballot plurality voting.
D) can be reordered by voters in an alternative vote system.
E) is used in single-member district plurality voting.

Question 15

Duverger's Law is about

A) the efficiency of parliamentary systems.
B) how electoral systems affect the number of parties.
C) how coalitions will form.
D) how to calculate results in a single-transferable vote system.
E) recent changes in the French electoral system.

Question 16

All of the following are critiques of a single-member district system EXCEPT

A) it produces "wasted" votes.
B) electoral districts can be manipulated.
C) it discriminates against smaller parties.
D) it produces highly fragmented parliaments.
E) there is no geographic representation.

Question 17

All of the following are critiques of proportional representation EXCEPT

A) it can make governance more difficult.
B) there is weaker geographic representation.
C) outcomes may not reflect voter preferences.
D) it allows extremist parties to win seats in parliament.
E) it may give too much influence to small parties.

Question 18

The electoral threshold in a proportional representation system does all of the following EXCEPT

A) defines the percentage of votes a party must receive in order to win seats.
B) helps limit the number of parties represented in the parliament.
C) varies from country to country.
D) affects the overall proportionality of the system.
E) sets a minimum voter turnout that must be met for the election to be valid.

Question 19

Electoral thresholds, according to the textbook, are typically

A) 1-2 percent
B) 4-5 percent
C) 10-12 percent
D) 15-20 percent
E) over 20 percent

Question 20

One feature of Germany's voting system is

A) run-off voting.
B) voters vote twice.
C) voters rank candidates.
D) there is no electoral threshold.
E) there is no geographic representation at all.

Question 21

The percentage of female parliamentarians is highest in

A) France.
B) Italy.
C) post-communist countries.
D) Scandinavia.
E) Great Britain.

Question 22

Data suggest that

A) voter turnout is higher in proportional representation (PR) systems.
B) women and minorities are more likely to be elected in single-member district plurality (SMDP) systems.
C) countries that use PR fare worse economically than those that use SMDP.
D) there is no difference in turnout between PR and SMDP systems.
E) PR produces majoritarian systems.

Question 23

Single-member district plurality voting

A) ensures geographic representation.
B) produces more than two parties.
C) tends to produce coalition governments.
D) works against large, moderate parties.
E) relies on party lists.

Question 24

Party lists

A) are a means to enforce party discipline.
B) define the electoral threshold.
C) are determined by the European Union.
D) must be mailed to voters prior to elections.
E) come into play only in the second round of two-ballot voting.

Question 25

Plurality voting simply means

A) the candidate with the majority of votes wins.
B) that there will be more than two parties.
C) the candidate with the most votes wins.
D) more than one member will represent a district.
E) voting is proportional.

Question 26

Party discipline means that voters tend to be loyal to a party throughout their lives.

Question 27

European members of parliament often take the lead in drafting legislative proposals.

Question 28

In terms of its formal powers, the U.S. Congress is weaker than most European legislatures.

Question 29

Germany is an example of consensus system.

Question 30

Bicameralism is common in federal states and those with sizeable minority groups.

Question 31

A problem with two-ballot plurality voting is that it tends to favor extremist parties.

Question 32

Ireland's single-transferable vote electoral system is a variant of proportional representation.

Question 33

Proportional representation tends to produce a two-party system.

Question 34

A proportional representation system helps ensure that the percentage of votes a party receives will be roughly the same as the percentage of seats in parliament it receives.

Question 35

The higher the electoral threshold in a proportional representation system, the more parties one will have in parliament.

Question 36

If the United States were to adopt a proportional representation system, how would this change American politics? What sort of parties might form? Do you think this system would be superior to the current one?

Question 37

Some describe the German electoral system as the best of SMDP and PR. Why might this be so?

Question 38

We often hear "every vote counts." The textbook, however, suggests that under certain conditions, votes may be "wasted." What does the author mean by "wasted votes," and what type of electoral system produces them?

Question 39

Why might a SMDP system produce a "skewed" distribution of parliamentary seats that does not correspond with the overall percentage of votes? Be able to provide an example using hypothetical numbers.

Question 40

Some criticize coalition governments as unstable compared to majoritarian governments. What might be some advantages of coalition governments?