Deck 12: Politics and Power

Question 1

What do we call the potential of a person or a group to contest and change norms, values, institutions, and structures of power?

A) agency
B) authority
C) power
D) politics

Answer 1

agency

Question 2

In the modern world, the state is typically considered the ultimate authority in any particular territory. Despite this illusory ideal, what does the author note is true about the state?

A) It is weak and fragile.
B) It is fixed and cohesive.
C) It is coherent and contested.
D) It is fluid, contested, and fragile.

Answer 2

It is fluid, contested, and fragile.

Question 3

The Maasai, a semi-nomadic group who live outside the direct control of the government of Tanzania, have had to form their own nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that partner with international organizations to achieve goals that their state government neglected, such as creating reliable access to clean water and protecting land rights. Today they might be known as what kind of group?

A) ethnic group
B) autonomous state
C) band
D) chiefdom

Answer 3

ethnic group

Question 4

Earlier anthropological analysis considered small-scale human groups in comparative isolation. Anthropologists now understand that in all bands, tribes, and chiefdoms must function how?

A) as autonomous groups
B) solely with the permission of the state government
C) as distinctly homogenous societies
D) within the influence of the state

Question 5

In 1871, hundreds of small monarchies were united to form the nation-state of Germany. After defeat in World War I, Germany's government was known as the Weimar Republic until the Nazis came to power in 1933. With the defeat of Nazi Germany, the country was divided into East and West during the cold war, and finally reunited when the Soviet Union collapsed. Germany has existed in many forms, demonstrating what characteristic of states?

A) Most were formed before World War I.
B) They are uniquely constructed and constantly reshaped.
C) They are only a collection of symbols.
D) They remain the same over time.

Question 6

According to Service's typology, a transitional form between the simpler political structures of tribes and the more complex political structures of states is a(n):

A) band.
B) chiefdom.
C) tribe.
D) ethnic group.

Question 7

The Hadza are a small hunter-gatherer group in Tanzania, where they live much as their ancestors have for thousands of years. They have no tribal or governing hierarchy. What best describes the Hadza?

A) The Hadza are a chiefdom.
B) The Hadza have established hegemony in Tanzania.
C) The Hadza are diverse.
D) The Hadza are egalitarian.

Question 8

The political structure of modern countries includes a central government that exercises complete political, military, and economic control of its territory. Modern countries are considered what kind of organization?

A) tribe
B) state
C) band
D) chiefdom

Question 9

What can be accurately said about most states today?

A) They emerged during society's transition to an egalitarian lifeway.
B) Most states began as hunter-gatherer societies.
C) They all exist because of the tendency toward warfare.
D) They did not exist prior to World War II.

Question 10

An autonomous political unit composed of a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief is a:

A) group.
B) band.
C) tribe.
D) chiefdom.

Question 11

What do anthropologists call a small, kinship-based group of foragers who move over a particular territory?

A) group
B) band
C) tribe
D) chiefdom

Question 12

What strategy did hunter-gatherer communities develop to enhance cooperation, generosity, and the sharing of resources?

A) compatibility
B) hegemony
C) egalitarianism
D) hierarchy

Question 13

An autonomous regional political structure with a central government authorized to make laws and use political, economic, and military force to maintain order and defend its territory is referred to as what?

A) group
B) band
C) state
D) chiefdom

Question 14

Anthropologists have observed that tribal leaders build and maintain power through which of the following?

A) personal achievements
B) being elected to political institutions
C) strong enforcement of religious beliefs
D) learning to live within the control of a centralized state

Question 15

In Bangladesh, over 1,000 youth marched over 100 miles to protest the construction of coal-fired plants. What does this demonstrate?

A) people taking political action to resist climate change
B) electoral politics in action
C) the persistence of egalitarianism
D) the reign of hierarchy

Question 16

Power, the ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence is:

A) found in some relationships.
B) exercised by the state alone.
C) must be established through public, dramatic, and violent actions.
D) embedded in all human relationships.

Question 17

Why does the author say that the image of the state as fixed, cohesive, and coherent is an illusion?

A) Because states are constantly reshaped by new leaders and legislation and through its interactions.
B) Because members of a state do not have a shared history, identity, or a shared sense of destiny.
C) States are an illusion because the modern world is mainly composed ofchiefdoms.
D) Because each state is temporary and will be replaced with a new one.

Question 18

The origin, construction, and organization of states are frequently the focus of which branch of anthropology?

A) social historians
B) linguistic anthropologists
C) political anthropologists
D) cultural anthropologists

Question 19

Small, kin-based groups that hunt and gather over a particular territory and constantly break up and reform in response to conflicts are referred to as what?

A) bands
B) chiefdoms
C) movements
D) tribes

Question 20

Indigenous groups with their own set of loyalties and leaders living to some extent outside the control of a centralized authoritative state, are known as what?

A) groups
B) bands
C) tribes
D) chiefdoms

Question 21

The Occupy Wall Street movement was able to gain support by focusing on inequality with the motto "We are the 99 percent" and combining physical and virtual elements of their protest. What is this an example of?

A) subversive action
B) civil society organization
C) social rationale
D) framing process

Question 22

Members of the civil rights movement held protests, sit-ins, and marches to oppose inequality. Their actions eventually resulted in the Civil Rights Act, which eliminated much of the legal inequality in the country. What is this an example of?

A) framing process
B) warfare
C) social movement
D) human rights

Question 23

In 2014, police in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in an incident that evoked nationwide protest. In the ensuing months, social media was employed to powerful effect using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter. The creation of the #blacklivesmatter hashtag helped galvanize support and is an example of what kind of action?

A) social movement
B) social rationale
C) social demonstration
D) framing process

Question 24

Michelle organizes a protest at her university, telling her peers that they have the power to challenge values and structures of power. What is Michelle referring to?

A) agency
B) authority
C) individuality
D) hegemony

Question 25

When farmers in Costa Rica marched, blocked streets, and held demonstrations to protest inequality and injustice, what were they participating in?

A) a social movement
B) collective riots
C) cultural warfare
D) a fatwa

Question 26

Adolf Hitler was able to create a powerful unified state in Germany, in part, by blaming ethnic minorities for the country's problems and promoting the idea of "ethnically German" people as different and superior. This made the idea of persecuting minorities and expanding German dominance over Europe seem like a reasonable course of action. What do we call this feeling of belonging and superiority?

A) social cohesion
B) militarization
C) nationalism
D) racism

Question 27

Anthropologist Marc Edelman's study of rural peasants in Costa Rica as they responded to the economic and political upheavals brought about by civil war and increased debt demonstrate what aspect of human response to the state?

A) cooperation
B) agency
C) initiative
D) drive

Question 28

In 1989, millions of Chinese stood up to their government in the Tiananmen Square protests. These protests, unfortunately, resulted in martial law and possibly the deaths of numerous Chinese citizens. What would an anthropologist suggest about what the Tiananmen Square protestors were doing?

A) exercising their agency
B) instigating militarization
C) expressing their individuality
D) exercising their power

Question 29

Even very powerful institutions do not completely dominate people's lives and thinking. Individuals and groups with relatively little power can contest powerful institutions, such as the state, because:

A) individuals are not really affected by systems of power.
B) systems of power, like the state, change constantly and quickly.
C) established systems of power, like the state, are always weakening.
D) systems of power, including the state, are never absolute.

Question 30

The ability of a dominant group to create consent and agreement within a population without the use or threat of force is referred to as what?

A) agency
B) coercion
C) domination
D) hegemony

Question 31

What is the method by which social movements create shared meanings and definitions that motivate and justify collective action?

A) social movement
B) framing process
C) rationalization
D) social rationale

Question 32

Collective group actions in response to uneven development, inequality, and injustice that seek to build institutional networks to transform cultural patterns and government policies are referred to as what kind of action?

A) crusades
B) social movements
C) social initiatives
D) public causes

Question 33

Adolf Hitler glorified German domination while expanding the military and promoting paramilitary organizations such as the Hitler Youth. What is this an example of?

A) band
B) chiefdom
C) militarization
D) colonialism

Question 34

In the United States, we often celebrate the Fourth of July with colorful fireworks, parades, and various festivities. Fourth of July celebrations in the United States help to reinforce feelings of ________.

A) animosity
B) nationalism
C) power
D) military fervor

Question 35

When a civil society prepares for war, this preparation includes production of weapons and the glorification of war. What is this process called?

A) framing process
B) social movement
C) hegemony
D) militarization

Question 36

Although the Nazi regime did use violence, it also used films, newspapers, radio programs, textbooks, and even youth groups and comic books aimed at children, to influence much of the populace to cooperate with Nazi actions and programs, which they came to see as necessary and reasonable. What is this kind of consensus an example of?

A) mindset
B) hegemony
C) framing
D) coercion

Question 37

It has sometimes been suggested that violence is endemic to all primates. What have recent studies of other nonhuman primates revealed?

A) Some primates undergo a cycle of violence and increasing distancing until everyone lives alone.
B) Some primates undergo a cycle of reconciliation rather than distancing after conflict occurs.
C) Some primates undergo a cycle of performed violence that is not actually physically damaging.
D) Some primates undergo a cycle of behavior that does not involve any violence at all.

Question 38

What is one of the arguments given to support the idea that humans are naturally violent?

A) Violence and war are a cultural institution.
B) Violence is something we all learn as children.
C) Violence only appeared after the development of the state.
D) Violence is found genetically engrained in all primates.

Question 39

A local nongovernmental organization (NGO) that challenges state policies and uneven development and advocates resources and opportunities for members of its local communities is known as what?

A) a civil society organization
B) an international aid society
C) a nonaligned charity
D) a local support agency

Question 40

The dominant group in a state reinforces its ability to create consent and agreement about what is normal and appropriate through the promotion of what kinds of intense feelings?

A) social anxiety
B) religious fervor
C) agency
D) nationalism

Question 41

When Marta was growing up, her parents, religious leaders, school lessons, favorite books, and television shows all taught her that good people who work hard get what they deserve. As an adult, she is a woman who says that lazy people are taking advantage of the nation's hard workers. This is an example of:

A) agency.
B) civil society.
C) hegemony.
D) coercion.

Question 42

In Egypt, people view the decisions of the official Egyptian Personal Status courts with great suspicion, and they often turn to the traditional Al Azhar Fatwa Council for guidance on important matters of daily life, even though their decisions are not legally binding. The Fatwa Council is an example of what kind of social response to the state?

A) a religious institution
B) an independent court
C) a customary law structure
D) an alternative legal structure

Question 43

The Fatwa Council in Egypt is an alternative legal structure used to solve disputes and avoid the interference and control of the state legal system. Despite the fact that these structures do not have the power to make people obey the outcome, individuals seeking redress here generally do comply with the results carefully. What is a key difference between the fatwa and the court system?

A) Both the individual and the mufti share responsibility for the outcome.
B) Both the individual and the mufti recognize sharia law as the only valid source of legal wisdom.
C) Both the individual and the mufti have the means to reject any challenges by the state courts system.
D) Both the individual and the mufti are able to agree on everything.

Question 44

A fraternity brother stole a valuable piece of jewelry during a sorority rush party. His brothers do not want to get in trouble, so they do not turn him over to the police or university. However, they cannot permit such a violation of their values and norms. Their solution is to submit the offender to their own tribunal and devise a fitting punishment that reassures the community. This is an example of:

A) agency.
B) civil society.
C) hegemony.
D) alternative legal structure.

Question 45

To resist the power of state institutions, some societies use different systems to settle issues that might normally go to the state court system. What are these systems known as?

A) alternative legal structures
B) independent courts systems
C) common law structures
D) customary laws

Question 46

During World War II, Walt Disney Productions distributed pro-American propaganda cartoons featuring Donald Duck for the U.S. government in an effort to increase support for the war. This is an example of:

A) civil society.
B) militarization.
C) state sovereignty.
D) modern warfare.

Question 47

What do the Sundarbans campaign in Bangladesh and the Fossil Free movement at Swarthmore College have in common?

A) Both engaged in teach-ins and student-led demonstrations.
B) Both groups marched over 100 miles to protest fossil fuel-powered plants.
C) Both are examples of people taking action to halt and reverse climate change and global warming.
D) Both groups cause their university to divest in fossil fuels.

Question 48

In her article, "Warfare Is Only An Invention-Not A Biological Necessity," how did Margaret Mead support her argument that war is a cultural invention?

A) She presented ethnographic examples of groups who do not go to war to settle disputes.
B) She tested the human instinct for violence.
C) She compared the genomes of human and non-human primates.
D) She looked for patterns of reconciliation among bonobos, macaques, and chimpanzees.

Question 49

Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been powerful voices against the exercise of state power. These organizations can be seen as exercising what particular form of response to the state?

A) hegemony
B) agency
C) political will
D) local advocacy

Question 50

The modern Western state emerged in the sixteenth century and expanded through colonization and globalization. Which of the following are true about the modern state?

A) It has relatively porous borders and loose administration.
B) It does not have centralized administrative, communications, or military infrastructures.
C) It shares resources and territory with other states.
D) It seeks to establish a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within a territory.

Question 51

Outraged by the number of potholes on Elm Street, your neighbor, Mr. Perkins, called his representative daily until they were fixed. His victory is an outcome of an individual exercising his:

A) agency.
B) hegemony.
C) state power.
D) political campaign.

Question 52

A group of people within the domain of a state creates their own organization in an effort to challenge inequities and assert their political rights to resources and recognition within their state. What is this type of formal organization called?

A) a sovereignty group
B) international aid society
C) military
D) civil society organization

Question 53

A mufti is:

A) a spacious room in a mosque.
B) an Islamic legal scholar and interpreter of Islamic Law.
C) a court system based on Sharia law.
D) a judge in Egyptian personal status court.

Question 54

Briefly summarize the three main arguments the text presents over whether human beings are naturally peaceful or violent. Which argument is most persuasive? Explain your choice, supporting it with the arguments and evidence presented in the text.

Question 55

The political-economic context in which international financial institutions pressure states to adopt neoliberal economic policies has produced a flourishing of ________.

A) progress and development
B) civil society
C) national sovereignty
D) state social spending

Question 56

What surprising discovery did Carolyn Nordstrom make in her study of war and violence in Mozambique?

A) War is not something that can be prevented through political will.
B) People want war in order to establish their autonomy.
C) People can resist the political violence of war in the ways they attend to the daily matters of their community.
D) The state does not actually start or condone war; people do.

Question 57

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and World Vision are examples of:

A) transnational finance organizations.
B) non-governmental organizations.
C) neoliberal movements.
D) sovereign states.

Question 58

The ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence is:

A) politics.
B) uprisings.
C) power.
D) social movements.

Question 59

Catherine Lutz warns that, if left unchecked, militarization:

A) can shape other cultural institutions to its own ends.
B) may eliminate civil society.
C) will encourage the production of bullets, bombs, tanks, planes, and missiles.
D) will make organizing civil society for war an uncontested process.

Question 60

Discuss the role egalitarianism has played in hunter-gatherer bands and, quite possibly, human evolution.

Question 61

Give an example of how a group has used a framing process.

Question 62

What is agency? Give two examples of people or groups that have exerted their agency.

Question 63

Civil society organizations have become important actors on the world stage. Discuss what they are, where they came from, and how they work.

Question 64

Compare and contrast the concepts of the band, the tribe, and the chiefdom. What are the advantages of each?

Question 65

Anthropologist Carolyn Nordstrom works in war zones to describe the real and messy experiences of war. In her account, an individual health-care provider in Mozambique, targeted by the military forces that terrorized local villages, managed to hide and survive until they had moved through the area. The provider then worked to help others. How does this case directly challenge the long legacy of Western philosophers who argue that human nature is innately violent?

Question 66

Explain what hegemony is and give an example that illustrates your explanation.

Question 67

The dominance of the state over people's lives is never absolute. How do groups use their agency to contest power relationships, structures, and cultural norms? Give two examples of groups that exercised their political agency and the strategies they used.

Question 68

Describe the effects militarization has on a society. Provide two examples.

Question 69

Give an example of an alternative legal structure. Explain how it was used to circumvent state power

Question 70

Modern states play a central role in shaping what happens in every part of the world today. Discuss the aspects of the state that make it the dominant form of political organization in the world today.

Question 71

Compare and contrast the concept of power, in general, with state power, and give an example of each.

Question 72

What is a social movement? Describe at least three characteristics of a social movement. Provide examples to illustrate your description.