Deck 13: Political Parties

Question 1

According to public choice theory, why is it irrational for individuals to join a political party?

A) Human beings are imperfectly rational.
B) The effect of any individual's activity in a political party is going to be smaller than the effort that it involves.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following criticisms of political parties are part of what Carothers calls 'the standard lament' about them? Please select all that apply.

A) Parties are corrupt and self-interested.
B) Parties are only active at election time when they want your vote.
C) Parties spend too much time squabbling.
D) Parties are ill-prepared for governing.
E) The differences between the platforms of political parties are insignificant.
F) Parties promote social division rather than cooperation.

Answer 2

A, B, C, D, E

Question 3

Parties emerged within the US Congress because ...

A) The media wanted to simplify political coverage by grouping politicians under different labels.
B) Congressmen lacked the moral courage to fight elections as independents.
C) It proved too time-consuming to have to build coalitions from scratch in order to support or oppose every piece of legislation.
D) Socialist members of the working class established a party of their own to fight the power of the bourgeoisie.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What are 'catch-all' parties?

A) Organizations which seek to establish one-party states.
B) Organizations which have no constructive policies and just try to catch out their opponents when they make mistakes.
C) Organizations which try to maximize support by offering policies which avoid ideological controversy and appeal to the 'median voter'.
D) All of the above.

Question 5

Cartel parties primarily favour the interests of business cartels.

Question 6

Recently there has been a trend for parties in long-established liberal democracies to ...

A) increase their rank and file membership.
B) prefer ideological purity to office-holding.
C) choose more mature, experienced leaders regardless of their media images.
D) become more 'professionalized' and 'candidate-centred'.

Question 7

According to Aldrich the third dimension of party activity apart from party-in-government and party-in-the-electorate is the party's ________ _____________.

Question 8

Which is the function missing from the following list of party functions? Legitimation of political system; formulation of public policy; structuring the popular vote; integration of citizens; aggregation of diverse interests; representation;___________.

Question 9

Looking at the programmatic typology of political parties, which one is missing from the following list? Liberal/radical; communist; environmental; regional; conservative; socialist; nationalist; Islamic; __________.

Question 10

According to the typology from Gunther and Diamond, which is the category of political parties that is missing from the following list? Elite-based; mass-based; electoralist; ethnicity-based.

Question 11

The party system in any state is usually affected by ...

A) the electoral system.
B) economic cleavages in society.
C) the constitution.
D) all of the above.

Question 12

According to Lipset and Rokkan, with what part of the world are 'frozen' party systems typically associated?

A) Scandinavia.
B) Western Europe.
C) Russia.
D) Asia.

Question 13

In a predominant party system one party exercises hegemony over all the others.

Question 14

Which of the following is a key justification of state funding for political parties?

A) The party leaders deserve to live in guaranteed comfort.
B) It will ensure the survival of long-established parties.
C) It should reduce the dependence of parties on rich politicians with vested interests.
D) It should reduce the dependence of parties on rich donors with vested interests.

Question 15

Which of the following statements are correct? Please select all that apply.

A) State funding of political parties can help prevent them from becoming excessively dependent upon rich-self-interested donors.
B) State funding of political parties can make them lose contact with popular opinion and prevent the emergence of rivals.
C) State funding of political parties can encourage members of one party to defect and seek to set up their own, thus promoting party fragmentation.