Deck 2: United Kingdom

Question 1

Which of the following most accurately describes the religious composition of Northern Ireland?

A)Protestants make up the majority of the population, although Catholics constitute approximately 40 percent.
B)Catholics make up the majority of the population.
C)Protestants make up the majority of the population.
D)Almost all citizens of Northern Ireland are Catholic.
E)Almost all citizens of Northern Ireland are Protestant.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Violence in Northern Ireland was largely ended by:

A)a military intervention by the Irish Republic.
B)the Catholic victory in the civil war.
C)the Good Friday Agreement.
D)the Protestant victory in the civil war.
E)the Belfast compromise.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In which of the following ways did Tony Blair's policies as prime minister differ from those of Margaret Thatcher?

A)He was more accepting of his party's status quo mode of operation.
B)He devolved more power to regional governments.
C)He moved the country away from free-market policies.
D)He sought to strengthen the power of trade unions.
E)He sought a cooperative but more distant relationship with the United States.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is a characteristic of Britain's use of the single-member district electoral system?

A)It weakens Britain's proportional representation system.
B)It encourages the strength of smaller parties, which results in more coalition governments.
C)It supports the dominance of the Labour and Conservative parties.
D)It results in less stable governments and frequent vote of no confidence actions.
E)It weakens the regional concentration of smaller parties.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the Third Way of the Labour Party today?

A)coalition government between the Conservatives and hard-right parties that allows for a bigger shift to the ideological right
B)a means of governing with a very slim majority that requires courting votes from the opposition
C)a frequent coalition government between the Labour Party and the Green Party
D)devolution to regional governments in order to quell nationalist sentiment
E)a moderate compromise between the ideological right and the left

Question 6

________ is a system based on local customs and precedent and serves as the basis for contemporary legal systems in the United Kingdom (minus Scotland).

A)Celtic law
B)Code law
C)Roman law
D)Common law
E)Informal law

Question 7

In which of the following ways does the Labour Party differ from the Conservative Party?

A)It has been more vocal in opposition to EU membership.
B)It has proved less willing to engage in coalition governments.
C)It has formally reduced the once-dominant role of trade unions in party policy.
D)It is more ideologically pure.
E)It has suffered more internal divisions.

Question 8

Which of the following descriptions of the members of the UK House of Commons is accurate?

A)Members are typically more accessible to the electorate than American legislators.
B)Members typically act independently of their party's wishes.
C)The Speaker of the House is chosen from among the most senior members of the majority party.
D)Members enjoy more material support and staff than their U.S. counterparts.
E)Individual members are unable to propose legislation.

Question 9

Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson are two names associated with:

A)Scottish independence.
B)Northern Irish terrorism.
C)recent British prime ministers.
D)the office of the Speaker of the House.
E)the office of mayor of London.

Question 10

The SNP's ability to win the 2007 Scottish regional elections resulted in part from which of the following?

A)Scottish support for Blair's Iraq policy
B)the Labour Party's refusal to devolve power to Scotland
C)economic revival in Scotland
D)the promise by the EU of membership for an independent Scotland
E)British military abuses against the Scottish people in the early 2000s

Question 11

The Conservative Party is also known as the:

A)Whigs.
B)Reds.
C)Tories.
D)Backbenchers.
E)Thatcherites.

Question 12

Which of the following accurately describes results of the 2015 elections as they relate to the smaller British parties?

A)The SNP demonstrated surprising strength in the 2015 election, nearly sweeping all of Scotland's 59 seats in Parliament.
B)The United Kingdom Independence Party won increased support for its anti-EU platform, but it still holds only five seats in Parliament.
C)The showing of the Liberal Democratic Party made the best case in a half-century for the viability of a three-party system.
D)The Liberal Democrats, who had maintained a coalition government with the Conservatives, were able to earn greater support by riding on the popularity of the Conservative Party in the 2014 elections.
E)Regionally-based smaller parties, which have historically been the least capable of the smaller parties at winning seats in the legislature, managed to show major gains in 2015.

Question 13

The British party system is often called a two-and-a-half party system because:

A)the MPs in Parliament are notoriously hard to control, and their independence counts as a sort of third party.
B)the Labour Party has two unofficial wings that operate with different policy objectives.
C)the House of Lords is part of government but is not popularly elected.
D)the Scottish National Party holds only a regional sway instead of a national one.
E)the Liberal Democratic Party trails far behind the Conservative and Labour parties in electoral strength.

Question 14

The English Civil War resulted in a victory for:

A)Catholic supporters.
B)the monarchy.
C)Scotland.
D)supporters of Parliament.
E)peasant laborers.

Question 15

Which of the following descriptions of the UK prime minister is accurate?

A)Prime ministers are frequently removed by votes of no confidence.
B)Prime ministers can call new elections at any time before their terms have expired.
C)Prime ministers are elected to a maximum term of ten years.
D)Prime ministers are responsible for maintaining the support of their fellow MPs.
E)Prime ministers largely cede diplomatic responsibilities to the head of state.

Question 16

The Magna Carta set an important precedent by establishing:

A)authoritarian rule.
B)liberal democracy.
C)limits to the power of the monarchy.
D)lower-class power.
E)colonial expansion.

Question 17

Which term best describes the UK political regime?

A)authoritarian
B)majoritarian
C)checks and balances
D)separation of powers
E)corporatist

Question 18

Local government in the United Kingdom:

A)is constitutionally protected.
B)cannot have its powers revised by the central government.
C)does not exist at any level.
D)is led by appointed rather than elected officials.
E)has formal powers only when granted by the central government.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about British foreign relations is accurate?

A)The United Kingdom identifies itself with continental Europe far more strongly than it does with cross-Atlantic partners.
B)Both Labour- and Tory-led governments strongly supported the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
C)The British Parliament supported David Cameron's bill to intervene in the Syrian civil war.
D)Britain rejected participation in a coalition to intervene in Libya in 2011.
E)The United Kingdom retains a relatively small army compared to its Western European counterparts.

Question 20

As the United Kingdom democratized, which institution lost power?

A)House of Lords
B)House of Commons
C)prime minister
D)cabinet
E)regional legislatures

Question 21

Describe the similarities that exist between Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, despite Thatcher being a Conservative and Blair a Labourite.

Question 22

Briefly discuss the circumstances leading to the United Kingdom's current coalition government. What are the primary challenges facing the coalition, and why is the United Kingdom's political system an unlikely candidate for coalition government?

Question 23

In which of the following ways has the British welfare state changed in recent decades?

A)It has sought more of its funding from personal income taxes instead of corporate taxes.
B)It has reduced reliance on the national health system and has begun to privatize health care.
C)It has moved away from direct benefits and toward "welfare-to-work" programs.
D)It has taken on a more Labour-centric structure and moved away from Conservative preferences for welfare.
E)It has increased in size while providing a narrower range of benefits to citizens.

Question 24

Which factors led to the development of the UK welfare state after World War II, and why was the welfare state challenged beginning in the late 1970s?

Question 25

Which of the following accurately lists two results of the 2015 parliamentary elections in the UK?

A)the first coalition government involving the Scottish National Party and a major party; a dramatic reduction in popular support for the Labour Party
B)a reduction in the size of the Labour Party in Parliament to that of a smaller party, roughly equivalent to that of the Liberal Democrats or the SNP; the forming of a coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats
C)a rise in the popular vote for the UKIP to 13 percent; the taking of ten seats in Parliament by the UKIP
D)the winning of an outright majority by the Conservatives; the resignation of Ed Miliband
E)the replacement of David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister; a general popular acceptance of the austerity measures of the previous government

Question 26

What does it mean for the United Kingdom's political regime to be majoritarian? What about the structural relationship among the legislature, judiciary, and executive encourages majoritarianism, and what effect has it had on electoral politics in the United Kingdom?

Question 27

In which of the following ways does the British democracy differ from most other parliamentary democracies in Europe?

A)The British system has a written constitution that is vastly more comprehensive and explicit than others.
B)The majority party can enact policies with almost no checks from other branches of government.
C)The monarch is able to select the head of government without input from the electorate.
D)The minority party in Parliament has abnormally strong abilities to stop the work of government if it disapproves of policy choices.
E)The head of government is not elected to a fixed term of office.

Question 28

Evidence of continuing ethnic tensions has been demonstrated in the United Kingdom by:

A)Islamic extremist bombings in 2005 and urban riots in 2011.
B)urban riots in 2007 and Irish Catholic terrorism in 2012.
C)Irish Catholic riots in 2010 and Islamic extremist bombings the same year.
D)violent Protestant demonstrations in both Ireland and Scotland in recent years.
E)a rash of anti-Muslim hate crimes in major British cities in 2010.

Question 29

Describe the theorized causes behind the four-decade decline in the UK economy following World War II. What is the nature of the current postindustrial UK economy?

Question 30

Which of the following statements about the UK's relationship with the European Union (EU) is accurate?

A)The United Kingdom has not joined the EU.
B)The United Kingdom is a full EU member and has adopted the euro as its currency.
C)The United Kingdom is an EU member but has opted out of some aspects of the EU, including the single currency.
D)The United Kingdom was a founding member of the EU and dominates its politics.
E)The United Kingdom is a transitional member of the EU, with membership conditional on acceptance of the single currency.