Deck 7: Parliamentary Democracy: Pros and Cons of Perishable Governments

Question 1

What is Germany's historic capital city that was divided between East and West Germany at the end of World War II?

A)Frankfort
B)Berlin
C)Munich
D)Dusseldorf
E)Vienna

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Why might a prime minister in Great Britain call an election early?

A)In order to avoid cancelling their planned summer holidays
B)In order to take advantage of the current mood of the voters
C)In order to catch the opposing party without a parliamentary leader
D)In order to gain momentum for their legislative agenda
E)In order to provide a distraction from an ongoing scandal

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In comparison with Italy's parliament, Great Britain's parliament could be described as what?

A)Highly stable
B)Highly unstable
C)Roughly equally stable
D)Far more ideologically extreme
E)Much less representative of the lower classes

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Despite their party's majority in Parliament, all of the following prime ministers resigned due to opposition from their own party EXCEPT whom?

A)Margaret Thatcher
B)John Major
C)Tony Blair
D)David Cameron
E)Neville Chamberlain

Question 5

What was the main political change in France between the Fourth Republic (1946-1958)and the Fifth Republic (1958-present)?

A)The legislature was made stronger relative to the executive branch.
B)The judicial branch was made stronger relative to the executive branch and the legislature.
C)The executive branch was made stronger relative to the legislature.
D)The legislature and the judicial branch were made stronger relative to the executive branch.
E)The power of each part of the national government was reduced.

Question 6

The British government is what kind of political system?

A)Parliamentary
B)Presidential
C)Autocratic
D)Socialist
E)Unicameral

Question 7

In the modern era in Great Britain, which chamber of parliament is considered supreme?

A)The House of Lords
B)The Senate
C)The House of Burgesses
D)The House of Commons
E)The Chamber of Deputies

Question 8

Who is the head of state in Great Britain?

A)The prime minister
B)The Speaker of the House
C)The Archbishop of Canterbury
D)The president
E)The king or queen

Question 9

Which of the following issues is a serious impediment to Great Britain's attempt to leave the European Union?

A)The complexity of going back to the British pound from the euro
B)Questions about the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland
C)Concerns about military conflict with western Europe
D)Disagreements regarding whether Great Britain would take on a portion of the European Union's debt
E)Conflict over the extent of Great Britain's fishing rights in the North Sea

Question 10

The largest party in the British Parliament outside of the majority is known as what?

A)The Runners-Up
B)The Minority
C)The Alternates
D)The Loyal Opposition
E)The Opponents

Question 11

What is a parliamentary system of government?

A)A system of government led by a president, who is appointed by the parliament
B)A system of government where parliament is led by a prime minister, who is the head of the government
C)A system of government led by a president, who is considered to be more powerful than the parliament
D)A system of government with two distinct chambers of the legislature
E)A system of government where the power is divided among three equal branches of government

Question 12

How often are national elections held in Great Britain?

A)At least every five years, unless the majority party fails a confidence vote
B)Every four years in November
C)At least every ten years, unless the majority party fails a confidence vote
D)Every six years in November
E)Only when the majority party fails a confidence vote

Question 13

After the political reforms that started the Fifth Republic, France had the potential of a divided executive. What is meant by this term?

A)A situation where the prime minister and the president are of different parties or ideologies
B)A situation where the prime minister lacks strong support from his or her parliamentary party
C)A situation where the prime minister lacks strong support among the public
D)A situation where the president lacks strong support from his or her cabinet
E)A situation where the president lacks strong support among the public

Question 14

Although the French parliament is bicameral, which branch is considered to be the more powerful?

A)The House of Lords
B)The Chamber of Delegates
C)The House of Commons
D)The National Assembly
E)The House of Burgesses

Question 15

Which Russian leader is given much of the credit for the opening of relations between the Soviet bloc and the Western countries?

A)Stalin
B)Lenin
C)Gorbachev
D)Khruschev
E)Putin

Question 16

How does the electoral system for France's parliament limit the influence of minor parties?

A)Minor parties can rarely raise enough money to get their message to the public.
B)Minor parties rarely make it on the ballot due to restrictive ballot access laws.
C)Each electoral district elects only a single representative, so minor parties must receive the most votes to win the seat.
D)Minor parties must reregister with the state every year and pay a substantial fee in order to be recognized as an official party.
E)The ballots have two rounds, so mainstream and less ideological parties often win more votes in the second round.

Question 17

What was the primary reason for the adoption of federalism in Germany?

A)To increase administrative efficiency
B)To increase potential access points for special interest groups
C)To prevent the over-centralization of power
D)To decrease the risk of economic overregulation
E)To reflect the historical regionalism of Germany

Question 18

Why has the House of Lords declined in authority over time?

A)The leadership of the House of Lords was of poor quality and unable to stand up for the institution.
B)The queen grew frustrated with the House of Lords and used her authority to weaken the institution.
C)The House of Lords refused to address major issues of the day and the public voted to weaken the institution.
D)The president has assumed many of the powers previously given to the House of Lords.
E)The aristocratic nature of the House of Lords became inconsistent with a democratic Great Britain.

Question 19

Which of the following might explain the higher degree of party line voting in Great Britain than in the United States?

A)The absence of a president to unify the nation
B)The unitary system of government
C)The parliamentary system, especially no-confidence votes
D)The presence of strong religious differences in voting
E)The calming influence of a hereditary monarch

Question 20

Why would Aristotle characterize the British government as a mixed system?

A)Because the system includes democratic and aristocratic elements
B)Because the system includes both a president and a prime minister
C)Because the system has different chambers for the different social classes
D)Because the system is generally moderate in character
E)Because the system lacks a single all-powerful leader

Question 21

Although Japan's parliament is bicameral, which chamber is considered to be supreme?

A)The House of Councilors
B)The Senate
C)The National Assembly
D)The House of Commons
E)The Diet

Question 22

Since 1949, what have been the two main parties in Germany?

A)The Social democrats and the Greens
B)The Social democrats and the Christian democrats
C)The Christian democrats and the Free Democrats
D)The Social democrats and the communists
E)The Christian democrats and the Greens

Question 23

Which political party has largely dominated Japanese politics since 1955?

A)The Liberal Democratic Party
B)The New Democratic Party
C)The Social Democratic Party
D)The Republican Party
E)The Free Democrats Party

Question 24

Compare the strength of political parties in the United States and Great Britain. Which country has stronger political parties? Why might differences in institutions lead to stronger or weaker parties?

Question 25

Although the German parliament is bicameral, which branch is considered to be the more powerful?

A)Bundestag
B)The National Senate
C)Chamber of Delegates
D)House of Common
E)House of Burgesses

Question 26

Why is the political structure of the Knesset problematic?

A)Elections are often suspended due to violence.
B)The prime minister holds dictatorial-level powers.
C)The president can suspend the Knesset with little warning.
D)Committees are very powerful and can delay major legislation for years.
E)Elections are highly proportional, leading to large, unwieldy coalitions.

Question 27

What was the Meiji Restoration?

A)The beginning of Japan's parliamentary era, when the emperor was abolished
B)The end of Japan's presidential era, when a new parliament was created
C)The end of Japan's feudal era, when the United States wrote a new constitution based on their constitution
D)The beginning of Japan's feudal era, when the emperor empowered a series of local aristocrats
E)The end of Japan's feudal era, when a new emperor and bureaucracy were established

Question 28

What was the significance of the Camp David Accords?

A)They established peace between Iraq and Israel and affirmed the right of Israel to exist.
B)They ended the protracted war between Iraq and Iran.
C)They established peace between Egypt and Israel and affirmed the right of Israel to exist.
D)They ended the first Intifada and reduced violence in Israel.
E)They prevented Saudi Arabia from taking over the West Bank.

Question 29

What is meant by Germany's "constructive vote of no confidence"? How is this different from other no-confidence votes? What is the purpose of this rule?

Question 30

Describe the dual executive system in Germany. What powers are available to the chancellor? What powers are available to the president? How does this system compare with Great Britain and the United States?

Question 31

Why does the German constitution, the Basic Law, so prominently protect civil liberties?

A)In order to be compliant with European Union regulations
B)Because it was required to do so by the European Court of Human Rights
C)In response to the historical experiences of Nazi Germany
D)Because it was required to do so by the United States when Berlin was reunified
E)As the result of long-term political advocacy by civil libertarians

Question 32

The chancellor in Germany is most similar to what position in other parliamentary democracies?

A)President
B)King or queen
C)Minister for the economy
D)Minority leader
E)Prime minister

Question 33

How is the dual executive system in France different from the system in Great Britain? Be specific. What do those differences mean in terms of the relationship between branches of government?

Question 34

Describe the main powers of the Bundesrat in Germany. How do the powers of this institution help to maintain the federal system? Compare the powers of this upper chamber with the powers of the House of Lords in Great Britain and the Senate in the United States.

Question 35

How did German chancellor Merkel respond to the euro crisis that started in 2007-2008?

A)She did not respond, believing it to be a purely national issue.
B)She pushed for big increases in government spending to stimulate the economy.
C)She encouraged the European Union to expel some of the member states responsible for the crisis.
D)She pushed for cuts to government spending and monetary and fiscal reforms.
E)She encouraged significant increases in immigration to stimulate the economy.

Question 36

How does the German electoral system reduce the likelihood of fringe parties taking power?

Question 37

Although India's parliament is bicameral, which chamber is considered to be supreme?

A)Council of Revisions
B)Lok Sabha
C)House of Representatives
D)House of Delegates
E)Chamber of Deputies

Question 38

Describe the main problems in the Weimar Republic. Why was Germany's first constitutional government unlikely to succeed from the beginning?

Question 39

What is the primary goal of Zionism?

A)The promotion of Jewish history in schools
B)An end to anti-Semitism in western Europe
C)To establish and support a Jewish state of Israel
D)To help displaced Jewish families return to their homes in eastern Europe
E)The creation of the United Nations and the prevention of future world wars

Question 40

Describe the failure of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Why was this disaster such a large problem? What does it reflect about modern Japan and modern Japanese politics?

Question 41

Why has parliamentary democracy been transferred successfully to India but not yet taken root in Afghanistan or Iraq? What is distinct about the culture and history of India that allowed this to happen?

Question 42

Examine the current economic and political situation in Japan. How likely is their government to remain stable in the present economy? How likely is their economy to recover with significant competition from recently emerging economies such as India and China?

Question 43

How would you compare France's Fifth Republic to the Fourth Republic? How much of the difference is due to differences in constitutional structure, and how much is due to differences in circumstances? Be specific.

Question 44

What is common law and how did it come about? How is common law an important part of American and British law to this day? How is common law used differently in the two countries?