Deck 5: The Authoritarian Model: Myth and Reality

Question 1

In authoritarian states, a single ruler or a ruling elite controls the government.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Hosni Mubarak came to power in Egypt after the assassination of

A) Benjamin Netanyahu.
B) Desmond Tutu.
C) Ayatollah Khomeini.
D) Muammar el-Qaddafi.
E) Anwar al-Sadat

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a ruthless leader but a friend of the United States.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Authoritarianism is worse for the people of a state than totalitarianism.

Question 5

The only standard for government legitimacy is the consent of the governed.

Question 6

In the postwar era, what has been the most common way that authoritarian rulers have left office?

A) Resigned
B) Ousted
C) Assassinated
D) Lost election
E) Executed

Question 7

Due to China being America's second largest creditor, we are now economic codependents.

Question 8

Who famously said, "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely"?

A) Aristotle
B) Lord Acton
C) Niccolò Machiavelli
D) Mao Zedong
E) Chiang Kai-shek

Question 9

Small groups can take over and rule a country, and those small groups are also known as a junta.

Question 10

Russia is America's main rival today.

Question 11

All authoritarian regimes use brute force to suppress civil liberties and personal freedoms.

Question 12

Though they sometimes interfere with the power or policy goals of the state, authoritarian rulers generally respect individual rights.

Question 13

Most despots justify their self-serving policies as necessary to preserve order or protect the nation from foreign enemies.

Question 14

Though China's economy has advanced rapidly, increasing environmental harm has been and continues to be a
concern.

Question 15

Which is not a possible virtue of authoritarian government?

A) Efficiency
B) Limited opportunities for special interest groups
C) Faster economic growth
D) Effective infrastructure construction
E) Stability

Question 16

Until recently, authoritarian states were outnumbered by democracies.

Question 17

Tyrants are the same as dictators.

Question 18

How does the military usually dominate a political system?

A) It often rules as an institution.
B) The government is always headed by a single individual.
C) There is little chance of a return to civilian rule.
D) Large-scale public works projects are generally instituted.
E) It is necessarily illegitimate.

Question 19

Egypt has done well in the Middle East due to its large oil reserves.

Question 20

Some authoritarian rulers care about the common good.

Question 21

Although it is trying to improve, which of the following is the best description of modern day China?

A) Bureaucratic totalitarian state
B) Monolithic police state
C) Self-defeating ideological state
D) Economic revolutionary state
E) Authoritarian police state

Question 22

Experts say there are advantages to authoritarian regimes, among them their

A) ability to rally the people to support important initiatives.
B) lack of a class system.
C) need for economic prosperity.
D) relative stability.
E) resistance to corruption.

Question 23

After years of rule by self-appointed juntas, Latin America has generally given way to rule by which of the following?

A) Benevolent dictators
B) Oligarchies
C) Tyrants
D) Freely elected governments
E) Military dictators

Question 24

Why is personal charisma important to autocrats?

A) It provides a source of legitimacy for their rule.
B) It keeps their subjects constantly occupied.
C) They are usually insecure and crave the adoration of their subjects.
D) It inspires fear in their subjects.
E) They are usually ineffective orators and cannot rely on their speaking skills.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a typical characteristic of living conditions in authoritarian states?

A) Low life expectancy
B) Gross social inequality
C) High illiteracy rates
D) Low infant mortality
E) Slow to modernize

Question 26

Why is Iran considered to be an oxymoronic kind of state?

A) It is a democratic dictatorship.
B) It is a modern theocracy.
C) It is militantly pacifist.
D) It is a public aristocracy.
E) It is an open society that is controlled.

Question 27

What is the BEST evidence of social change in China today?

A) A successful pro-democracy movement
B) The end of Maoism
C) The increasing visibility of China's political processes
D) China's the slowing migration from rural areas to cities
E) A growing middle class and group of affluent entrepreneurs

Question 28

According to Machiavelli's The Prince, what must rulers practice?

A) How not to be good
B) Foreign diplomacy
C) Politics
D) Persuasion techniques
E) Lying

Question 29

What do critics claim is the reason why China's exports have grown to become the largest in the world?

A) China relies on tariffs to maintain its leadership position.
B) China keeps its prices low and desirable by devaluing its currency.
C) China has inflated its currency to promote its trade balance.
D) China has become the world's banker.
E) China owns more manufacturing facilities than any other nation in the world.

Question 30

How do most authoritarianism regimes come to power?

A) Sudden coup d'état
B) Slow and steady take over by local governments
C) Usually a joint operation by the military and police
D) Constitutional convention
E) Mob rule from sudden epidemic or economic collapse

Question 31

As authoritarian regimes fell, U.S. hopes for democracy fizzled in all of the following countries EXCEPT

A) the Balkans.
B) Iraq.
C) Afghanistan.
D) Latin America.
E) West Africa.

Question 32

What were the Chinese students and workers gathered at Tiananmen Square in 1989 protesting?

A) Continuation of communism
B) Corruption and failure to democratize
C) Poor wages, bad food, and little education
D) Military expansion and aggression towards Tibet
E) Heavy tax burdens

Question 33

What is the main aim of authoritarian states?

A) Maintaining power
B) Growing the economy
C) Stifling opposition
D) Suppressing the people
E) Waging war on enemy states

Question 34

The term "Machiavellian" typically refers to the belief that

A) authoritarianism is the most natural form of government.
B) cunningness and cruelty as a normal part of rulership.
C) only those well-born (in the highest social classes) should rule.
D) leaders should be guided by a moral compass.
E) that power begets more power.