Deck 5: Germany

Question 1

Which of the following was a major contribution to the electoral trouncing that Merkel's Conservative-Liberal government suffered in the 2011 Baden-Würtenburg state elections?

A)the refusal of Merkel's government to approve bailouts to suffering Eurozone countries
B)increased taxes on corporate interests backed by the party
C)Merkel's refusal to intervene in the Libyan civil war
D)Merkel's reluctance to shut down nuclear power plants
E)general anti-EU sentiment among the working class

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The German lower house of parliament uses what electoral system?

A)proportional representation
B)single-member district
C)mixed (between PR and SMD)
D)plebiscite
E)single-member districts in two rounds

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Holy Roman Empire was divided and weakened by:

A)the Vatican.
B)the Protestant Reformation and Thirty Years' War.
C)the French Revolution.
D)World War I.
E)World War II.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

West Germany's formal name during the division after 1949 was the:

A)Federal Republic of Germany.
B)German Democratic Republic.
C)Free German Republic.
D)United Republic of Germany.
E)German Social Democratic Union.

Question 5

Which kingdom became the core of the modern German state?

A)Bavaria
B)Teutonia
C)Prussia
D)Saxony
E)Berlin

Question 6

The lower house of the German parliament is called the:

A)Bundestag.
B)Volkschamber.
C)Bundesrat.
D)Landeshaus.
E)Representative Chamber.

Question 7

The title of Germany's head of government is:

A)state premier.
B)magistrate.
C)federal chancellor.
D)president.
E)king or queen.

Question 8

The reunification of East and West Germany in 1990:

A)prompted the establishment of a new regime and constitution.
B)incorporated East Germany into the West German regime.
C)incorporated West Germany into the East German regime.
D)allowed for the continuation of both regimes.
E)was prohibited by the USSR and the United States.

Question 9

Which of the following distinctions can be drawn between the CDU/CSU and the SPD?

A)The SPD is more likely to form a coalition with the Free Democratic Party.
B)The CDU/CSU is more likely to promote tax cuts.
C)The SPD is much more likely to propose reforms aimed at reducing the welfare state.
D)The SPD is a relatively young party compared to the CDU/CSU.
E)The CDU/CSU was a less enthusiastic supporter of reunification between East and West Germany.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about political party competition in Germany is accurate?

A)Germany could best be described now as a four-party system.
B)The SPD is considered to be a catchall party; the center-right CDU/CSU is considered more exclusionary.
C)Germany's historically dominant parties reached their highest proportion of the vote in the 2013 general elections.
D)Parties must reach 5 percent of the electoral vote in order to hold seats in the legislature.
E)Angela Merkel has only been able to rule since 2013 through a coalition with the Free Democratic Party.

Question 11

Germany's political regime since 1949 is often called the:

A)Third Reich.
B)Deutsch Democracy.
C)Second Reich.
D)Bonn Republic.
E)Weimar Republic.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about the position of German chancellor is accurate?

A)Chancellors have relatively little power to get their policy proposals passed by the legislature.
B)Chancellors are elected by the upper house of the legislature.
C)Chancellors may create or eliminate cabinet posts at will.
D)Chancellors have relatively few resources at their disposal.
E)The chancellor shares roughly equal power with the German federal president.

Question 13

The regime established by Hitler is best described as:

A)a social democracy.
B)a Communist dictatorship.
C)an illiberal democracy.
D)a theocracy.
E)a fascist totalitarian dictatorship.

Question 14

The Weimar Republic:

A)is the name of Germany's current regime.
B)sponsored German reunification in the 1990s.
C)fostered German industrialization in the 1890s.
D)replaced Nazi rule in the 1950s.
E)collapsed in the face of rising Nazism in the 1930s.

Question 15

Which of the following statements about East Germany is accurate?

A)It was a (forced) Communist ally of the USSR.
B)It became a closely managed ally of the United States.
C)It was a founding member of the European Union.
D)It became a cornerstone of the NATO alliance.
E)It was far more affluent than West Germany.

Question 16

In which of the following ways does the Bundesrat differ from the Bundestag?

A)The Bundesrat has the power to remove the chancellor.
B)The Bundesrat lacks veto power over legislation, which the Bundestag possesses.
C)The Bundesrat is the first to deal with newly submitted legislation.
D)The Bundesrat serves as less of a check on the federal government and more of a check on the judiciary.
E)There is less discipline in ballot-casting in the Bundesrat, with individual representatives voting based on preference and conscience.

Question 17

Which of the following could be considered a strong feature of German political culture?

A)support for collective well-being over individual rights
B)strong nationalism
C)postwar support for democracy as an expression of patriotic identity
D)national pride
E)support for a system that combines socialism with consensus

Question 18

Which of the following was among the short-term results of the unification of East and West Germany?

A)a major increase in political violence in West Germany
B)the relocation of the capital of the German state to Bonn
C)an increasing gap in per capita wealth between the two halves
D)massive unemployment in East Germany
E)huge spending to modernize West German infrastructure

Question 19

Germany's current head of government is:

A)Horst Köhler.
B)Angela Merkel.
C)Gerhard Schroeder.
D)Arnold Klemp.
E)Christian Wulff.

Question 20

What is the relationship between the German state and the policy of neocorporatism?

A)The German state's role in the neocorporatist model involves restricting the ability of labor unions to influence the board decisions of private firms.
B)The German state's role in the neocorporatist model involves bringing unions and private business into negotiations over labor policy.
C)The German state's role in the neocorporatist model is minimal; it tries to allow private businesses and unions to develop economic policy without interference.
D)The German state's role in the neocorporatist model is restricted to the application of court judgments to business disagreements.
E)The German state's role in the neocorporatist model is to bring the two dominant political parties into coalition governments.

Question 21

Why did the Weimar Republic fail? Were internal or external factors more significant?

Question 22

The year 2013 brought into being a coalition government between what two parties?

A)CDU and CDP
B)CDU and Free Democratic
C)Green and Free Democratic
D)SPD and Green
E)CDU and SPD

Question 23

Has reunification succeeded in Germany? Identify the primary political, social, and economic challenges that remain.

Question 24

Which of the following statements about Germany's relationship with the EU is accurate?

A)Chancellor Merkel opposed EU economic sanctions on Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
B)The CDU emerged as the primary German opponent of European integration in the party system.
C)Germany continues to consider adopting the European single currency, but domestic opposition has so far prevented it.
D)Chancellor Merkel has consistently opposed Eurozone bailouts but has been overruled twice in recent years by the Bundestag.
E)Chancellor Merkel was able to get approval for increased bailout funds in exchange for tighter controls on Eurozone member deficits.

Question 25

How has the legacy of Nazism and World War II shaped the cultural and ideological development of the German people? What ideological development has helped increase the power of the German Green Party?

Question 26

Which of the following descriptions best applies to the German state of Bavaria?

A)wealthy, strongly Catholic
B)strongly Protestant, independent
C)working class, multiethnic
D)strongly Catholic, working class, culturally dependent on Prussia
E)weak in any religious affiliation, wealthy

Question 27

The German policy of codetermination refers to:

A)consulting both East and West Germans before implementing major policies.
B)coordinating EU and German national policies.
C)forced seating of union leaders on the corporate boards of private firms.
D)devolving authority for economic policies from the federal level to state policy makers.
E)the requirement that German states approve all federal legislation.

Question 28

Germany's democratic arrangement whereby business, labor, and the state work within an explicit framework to guide the economy toward future goals is called:

A)collaborationism.
B)federalism.
C)codetermination.
D)welfarism.
E)neocorporatism.

Question 29

What are the consequences of Germany's mixed electoral system for the political makeup of parliament and the legislative process?

Question 30

Describe the core principles of the Basic Law. How was it designed to mitigate the weaknesses and failures of past governments? How well has it succeeded?