Deck 1: Introduction: The Study of Politics

Question 1

The concepts of political "power" and "authority" are synonymous.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Politically, America is essentially an optimistic nation.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The question of whether people can exercise power yet remain true to their principles is referred to as

A) Social Contract Theory.
B) the dilemma of political economy.
C) the problem of state sovereignty.
D) the crisis of normativism.
E) the problem of dirty hands.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Positivism and normativism are basic distinctions between the approaches political scientists take in their research.

Question 5

In order to explain why the Constitution of 1787 did not abolish slavery, scholars often skip over the question as to whether or why slavery is wrong.

Question 6

The scope of international relations goes beyond issues of war and peace between states.

Question 7

In the language of politics, state usually means country.

Question 8

The principle reason to study politics is

A) national interest.
B) self-interest.
C) public interest.
D) both national interest and self-interest.
E) both self-interest and public interest.

Question 9

Which of the following is essential to maintaining a stable order?

A) A strong military
B) The concept of justice
C) A republic form of government
D) A two-party system
E) A homogeneous population

Question 10

Which of the following best describes the term "sovereign state"?

A) A group of senior military officials that have seized control of the existing government.
B) A nation ruled by the tenets of democracy.
C) A country that has broken away from an autocratic government to form an independent, self-governing entity.
D) A community with solid borders that is ruled by a monarch.
E) A well-defined territory overseen by a single government that makes and enforces laws.

Question 11

Military seizures of power (coup d'etats) happened in all of the following places EXCEPT

A) Egypt.
B) Thailand.
C) Poland.
D) Guinea.
E) Mauritania.

Question 12

The Peace of Westphalia at the end of the Thirty Years' War created the foundation for the modern nation­state
system.

Question 13

Only governments that rule by consent of the governed are considered legitimate.

Question 14

Basic to the notion of social contract theory is the notion that the right to rule is based on the consent of the governed.

Question 15

Which term is used to describe the ability to get others to want what you want?

A) Political power
B) Authority
C) Hard power
D) Soft power
E) Legitimacy

Question 16

The decisions and choices of ordinary citizens have no impact on civil society.

Question 17

Prestige, power, and wealth have political and moral consequences.

Question 18

The term nation-state refers to the merging of smaller countries with different cultural values under the rulership of a larger, dominant nation.

Question 19

Republics are a form of government in which sovereignty ultimately resides in the people.

Question 20

Behavioral political scientists place little emphasis on abstract or normative political questions.

Question 21

Which of the following best describes a people who are scattered over the territory of several states or dispersed widely and who have no autonomous, independent, or sovereign governing body of their own?

A) Multinational state
B) Stateless nation
C) Nation state
D) Sovereign nation
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 22

Which subfield would involve a political scientist who would specialize in how a bureaucracy implements governmental policies?

A) Political theory
B) U.S. government
C) Comparative politics
D) International relations
E) Public administration

Question 23

Which theory holds that individuals and states alike act according to the iron logic of self-interest?

A) Normative theory
B) Behavioral theory
C) Rational choice theory
D) Political realism theory
E) Political culture

Question 24

When political scientists studied whether Democrats or Republicans fare best during high voter turn-outs, they discovered that since 1964

A) Democrats always do better when turn-outs are high.
B) Republicans tend to win more elections when turn-outs are high.
C) there has been more ticket-splitting.
D) the number of Independent voters has increased.
E) there has been both more ticket-splitting and more Independent voters.

Question 25

Studying the voting patterns of males in Senate elections would fall under which subfield?

A) Political theory
B) International relations
C) Comparative politics
D) U.S. government
E) Public administration

Question 26

The term "swing voter" refers to

A) people who vote for some Democrat and some Republican candidates in a given election.
B) people who remain undecided about candidates right up until election day.
C) people who may vote Democrat in one year's election and Republican in another.
D) those who remain undecided until election day, but then divide their votes between the two major party candidates.
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 27

According to the text, which of the following is the "father" of political science?

A) Aristotle
B) Plato
C) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
D) John Locke
E) Socrates

Question 28

Political scientists employing the behavioral approach tend to

A) concentrate on broad questions.
B) avoid moral and philosophical analysis.
C) reject the application of the scientific method to political science.
D) draw heavily on the work of ancient political theorists.
E) use dependency theory.

Question 29

"The moral values, beliefs, and myths by which people live and for which they are willing to die" is known as

A) political culture.
B) political realism.
C) rational choice.
D) behaviorism.
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 30

Political scientists who study similarities and differences in legislative processes across countries would be working in which subfield?

A) Political theory
B) U.S. government
C) Comparative politics
D) International relations
E) Public administration

Question 31

A specialist in international relations would likely NOT focus on

A) conflict and cooperation.
B) terrorism.
C) trade policy.
D) the definition of the "good life."
E) both trade policy and the definition of the "good life."

Question 32

According to a recent issue of The Economist, what is the strongest force shaping politics today?

A) Ideas
B) Behavior
C) Money
D) Force
E) Terrorism

Question 33

After which of these events did polyglot states emerge in which various ethnic or tribal groups were not assimilated into the new social order?

A) Decolonization
B) The Peace of Westphalia
C) The end of WWI
D) The American Revolution
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 34

How do political theorists try to answer questions?

A) By using rational choice theory
B) By studying political culture
C) By applying reason, logic, and dialogue
D) Both A and C
E) None of these choices is correct.