Deck 5: Democratic Regimes

Question 1

Republicanism can be defined as:

A)a system rooted in the ideology of liberalism, with its emphasis on individual rights and freedoms.
B)a system that emphasizes separation of powers and representation of the public through elected officials.
C)a political value that values individual rights above equality among individuals.
D)a political value that values equality among individuals above individual rights.
E)a system that emphasizes conservative political values.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Bicameral systems can be traced back to different representation for:

A)economic classes.
B)religious groups.
C)regional differences.
D)women and men.
E)urban and rural groups.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements about legislative structures is accurate?

A)Upper houses of bicameral systems are almost always elected indirectly.
B)In bicameral systems, lower houses typically amend or veto legislation originating in the upper house.
C)Larger countries are more likely to have unicameral systems.
D)The majority of liberal democracies have bicameral systems.
E)In the evolution of bicameral systems, lower houses were usually retained as a check on upper houses.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is more likely to be a problem in a presidential system than in a parliamentary system?

A)a policy disagreement between the legislative and the executive that results from a very small party in the legislature holding up a law by denying it a majority vote
B)a policy disagreement between the legislative and executive that restricts lawmaking for a long period, even if the executive has become unpopular with the electorate
C)the weakening of the judiciary over time as a result of conflicts between presidential and legislative authority
D)the growth of power in political parties as presidential candidates become more beholden to party loyalists
E)unstable policymaking due to the indeterminate amount of time the president is in office

Question 5

Which of the following statements about the relationships among democratization, modernization theory, and political elites is accurate?

A)Scholars have shown that contrary to modernization theory, poverty typically does not serve as an obstacle to democratization.
B)A core assertion of modernization theory is that a country with political elites will allow democratic institutions to flourish if the country develops enough natural resources to become wealthy.
C)According to modernization theory, economic development is important to democratization, but a focus on elites shows that the type of wealth or resources has a big impact on the success of democratization.
D)Concentration of economic assets in the hands of a few elites in power ultimately advances democracy because those elites feel secure in their positions and thus allow democratization to flourish.
E)Decline of natural resources or economic stagnation typically forces an entrenchment of elites and a reduction of the chances for democratization.

Question 6

The ability of constitutional courts to strike down legislation even in the absence of a specific court case is known as ________ review.

A)abstract
B)concrete
C)hypothetical
D)preemptive
E)proactive

Question 7

Which of the following statements about constitutional courts in the world is accurate?

A)Trials have more influence on constitutional interpretation in countries with a fused appellate and constitutional court.
B)In those countries that have it, the right of judicial review is typically implicit (like in the United States).
C)Most countries have a constitutional court, but less than half have endowed the constitutional court with the power of judicial review.
D)Constitutional courts implementing abstract review usually do so at the request of the head of state or through referenda.
E)Almost all constitutional courts in modern democracies ensure lifetime tenure for their judges.

Question 8

In a parliamentary system, the prime minister serves as:

A)head of state.
B)head of government.
C)both head of state and head of government.
D)neither head of state nor head of government.
E)the final court of appeal.

Question 9

A diverse fabric of organizations created by people, not necessarily political, to help define and advance their own interests is known as:

A)the political web.
B)civil society.
C)the oligarchy.
D)public networks.
E)civic autonomy.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about bicameralism is accurate?

A)Bicameralism is typically linked to unitary states, though not exclusively so.
B)Bicameral systems were often retained in modern times to restrict the power of popularly elected lower houses of the legislature.
C)Bicameral legislatures are an essential component of semi-presidential systems, where each voter casts two votes, one pertaining to each house of the legislature.
D)Members of lower houses typically serve longer terms than members of upper houses in bicameral systems.
E)Lower houses are generally weaker than upper houses in bicameral systems.

Question 11

Which of the following statements about semi-presidential systems is accurate?

A)The president typically makes foreign policy and relies on the prime minister to implement it by representing the country internationally.
B)Prominent semi-presidential systems typically place most of the power with the prime minister.
C)The prime minister is typically the initiator of policy.
D)Constitutional courts are often less powerful as a result of appointment by the president.
E)Semi-presidential systems have gone out of favor and have decreased in number during the last two decades.

Question 12

In a presidential system, the president typically serves as:

A)head of state.
B)head of government.
C)both head of state and head of government.
D)neither head of state nor head of government.
E)the final court of appeal.

Question 13

The executive in charge of dealing with running the state and formulating policy is the:

A)head of state.
B)head of government.
C)ceremonial head.
D)chief executive.
E)head of authority.

Question 14

Which of the following was an effect of the rapid development of many Asian countries in the 1970s on the study of democracy?

A)It helped to discredit elite theory.
B)It helped to discredit modernization theory.
C)It demonstrated that elites were the driving force behind early democratization.
D)It proved that a middle class was essential for democratization.
E)It demonstrated that overall poverty is not an impediment to democratization.

Question 15

Prime ministers can be removed through which mechanism?

A)impeachment
B)vote of no confidence
C)recall
D)plebiscite
E)initiative

Question 16

The origins of British democracy can be traced back to the:

A)Magna Carta, 1215.
B)Bill of Rights, 1689.
C)Voting Act, 1911.
D)Reform Act, 1911.
E)Patronage Act, 1752.

Question 17

Which of the following accurately describes a component of a mixed electoral system?

A)Voters are allowed two votes, one for a candidate and one for a party.
B)Voters are allowed two votes, one for a prime minister and the other for a legislative representative.
C)Voters participate in a combination of proportional representation and multimember districts.
D)Voters are allowed two votes, but both must go toward the same party (even if they are made for different candidates).
E)The structure steers voters toward support of very small, independent parties.

Question 18

In which of the following ways does a proportional representation (PR) system differ from a single-member district (SMD) system?

A)In a PR system, individual candidates win by plurality vote instead of majority.
B)Voters in a PR system are typically more willing to vote for smaller parties.
C)In a PR system, votes cast for a candidate or party that does not win are essentially wasted.
D)Each constituency in a PR system has only one representative.
E)Voters in a PR system cast a ballot for a candidate and for a party, not just for a candidate.

Question 19

What is meant by the term liberal democracy?

A)a democratic system that values equality above all
B)a democratic system that values personal freedom above all
C)a democratic system that promotes participation, competition, and liberty
D)a democratic system that promotes process, liberty, and minority rights
E)a system with a high degree of income redistribution

Question 20

The executive who symbolizes and represents the people is the:

A)head of state.
B)head of government.
C)ceremonial head.
D)chief executive.
E)head of authority.

Question 21

A national vote initiated by the government on a particular policy issue is commonly known as:

A)a referendum.
B)a plebiscite.
C)an initiative.
D)a voluntary ballot.
E)a mass ballot.

Question 22

Why might a country develop or choose a semi-presidential system? How do the power, office, and responsibilities of the president and prime minister differ in such a system?

Question 23

A political scientist notes that in a particular voting district, an elected representative has formed an especially close bond with her constituents, and that during her past term she even voted against the will of her party in order to better support the popular will of the people in her district.This political scientist would most likely use this observed relationship to argue that:

A)mixed electoral systems are superior to single-member district systems.
B)single-member district systems are superior to proportional representation systems.
C)parliamentary systems are superior to presidential or semi-presidential systems.
D)more referenda and initiatives are needed to allow for greater participation by voters in the policymaking process.
E)proportional representation systems are superior to single-member district systems.

Question 24

What are the most important differences between a single-member district system and a proportional representation system? Which is more democratic? Which is more efficient? Which do you prefer, and why?

Question 25

The electoral system that tends to produce a large number of political parties is:

A)the single-member district system.
B)proportional representation.
C)the mixed electoral system.
D)the single transferable vote.
E)binomial proportional voting.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about referenda and initiatives is accurate?

A)National referenda in the United States and Canada are largely used for taxation and economic policy matters.
B)Constitutional reform is not subject to reform by referenda because of the ease with which most referenda are passed.
C)Formal power to call national referenda lies with the head of state in many European countries.
D)Initiatives in most European countries can be started by either the legislature or the head of state, but rarely by the head of government.
E)Referenda in the United States are more often used at the national level than at the local or state level.

Question 27

In which of the following ways does a parliamentary system differ from a presidential one?

A)Prime ministers serve for shorter fixed terms than presidents.
B)Prime ministers must command a majority to stay in office; presidents do not.
C)Election dates are more easily altered in presidential systems than in parliamentary systems.
D)Presidents are more easily removed from office than prime ministers.
E)Prime ministers are directly elected by the people, while presidents must be elected indirectly through an electoral college.

Question 28

The idea of legal institutions to which everyone is subject is known as:

A)the reign of democracy.
B)the rule of law.
C)the authority of the governed.
D)majority rule.
E)authority of power.

Question 29

Should democracies rely more on initiatives or referenda to decide policy, or are forms of indirect democracy better? Why or why not?

Question 30

Proportional representation systems can be defined as:

A)electoral systems in which the candidate with the majority of the vote in a district wins the seat.
B)electoral systems in which the candidate with the plurality of the vote in a district wins the seat.
C)electoral systems in which the percentage of votes a party receives in a district will determine how many seats that party will win.
D)two-round systems for referenda and initiatives.
E)two-round systems for electing presidents and prime ministers.

Question 31

Civil rights typically refers to the promotion of:

A)equality.
B)freedom.
C)republicanism.
D)mass participation.
E)devolution.

Question 32

Which of the following best describes the correlative relationship between the type of executive in a country and the type of electoral system used to elect the legislature?

A)Countries that use a single-member district system have presidential executives, while those with prime ministers rely on proportional representation.
B)Countries that use a single-member district system have prime ministers, while presidential systems rely on proportional representation.
C)Semi-presidential systems rely on a mixed single-member district and proportional representation system.
D)There is no correlation between type of executive and the kind of electoral system used to elect the legislature.
E)Semi-presidential systems use proportional representation to elect both the president and the legislature.

Question 33

Describe the benefits that political parties bring to a democracy.How might the structure of political parties differ between proportional representation systems and single-member districts?

Question 34

Why does civil society matter, and do you think it is in any way connected to the idea of the rule of law? How? Why?

Question 35

Single-member district systems are:

A)electoral systems in which a candidate must win an absolute majority of the vote in a district to win the seat.
B)electoral systems in which the candidate with the largest share of the vote in a district wins the seat.
C)electoral systems in which the percentage of votes a party receives in a district will determine how many seats that party will win.
D)two-round systems for referenda and initiatives.
E)two-round systems for electing presidents and prime ministers.