Deck 17: Liberal Democracy

Question 1

Which term refers to having the support of 50 percent plus one?

A) majority rule
B) plurality
C) concurrent majority
D) qualified majority

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What does universal suffrage mean?

A) With reasonable exceptions, all men over a specified age can vote.
B) With reasonable exceptions, all women over a specified age can vote.
C) With reasonable exceptions, all citizens over a specified age can vote.
D) With reasonable exceptions, all citizens can vote.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What ideology would have influenced Sir Wilfred Laurier's decision to repeal the Electoral Franchise Act?

A) Classical liberalism.
B) Conservatism.
C) Socialism.
D) Reform liberalism

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What is one of the characteristics of liberal democracy?

A) equality of political rights
B) equality of income
C) separation of the head of state and the head of government
D) equality of condition

Question 5

Why must democracy be united with constitutionalism to be considered a legitimate form of government?

A) Democracy on its own is meaningless.
B) Only constitutional governments are legitimate
C) To prevent it from becoming mob rule, or the tyranny of the masses
D) To ensure universal suffrage and full participation

Question 6

What are the four operating principles of liberal democracy?

A) equality of political rights, majority rule, political participation, political freedom
B) majority rule, plurality property franchise, political freedom
C) responsible government, parliamentary sovereignty, political freedom, freedom of speech
D) equality of political rights, qualified majority, political freedom, laissez-faire economics

Question 7

Which principle marked a significant threshold in the establishment of political equality when it was introduced?

A) democratic centralism
B) equality of condition
C) the property franchise
D) universal adult male suffrage

Question 8

Which of the following aspects of a democracy would be recognized both by Aristotle and contemporary students of political science?

A) limited state
B) rule of the many
C) protection of rights
D) rule of the law

Question 9

Which of the following examples would NOT be considered a democracy?

A) A state where people were free to vote and run for office, but had no freedom of language, religion, or movement.
B) A state where people had constitutionally protected rights of religion, expression, language, and antidiscrimination laws were in place, but the ruler cancelled elections and suppressed political opposition.
C) A state where the majority of the population supported oppressive laws towards a minority population
D) A state which holds free and fair elections, but regulates the economy and assigns professions to its citizens.

Question 10

The argument can be made that the Electoral Franchise Act was influenced by conservatism.What is the strongest evidence for this statement?

A) Sir John A. Macdonald was part of the Conservative party.
B) The Act set a property requirement for the right to vote amid a trend of liberalization.
C) The Act was repealed by a Liberal prime minister.
D) The Act took power away from the provinces.

Question 11

Which of the following would NOT occur in a society based on equality of political rights?

A) The symbolic head of state is a monarch.
B) People under the age of 25 are not allowed to vote.
C) Only citizens born in the country can sit on juries.
D) Women make up only 20% of elected officials.

Question 12

Which trait is an infallible test for political freedom?

A) The will of the people is never blocked by minorities.
B) democratic centralism
C) the legitimacy of opposition
D) public opinion polls

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of liberal democratic government?

A) constitutionalism
B) equality of right
C) liberty under law
D) rule of men, not of law

Question 14

What is the key difference between a constitutional democracy and a liberal democracy?

A) There is no significant difference.
B) A constitutional democracy has a limited state, and a liberal democracy has a welfare state.
C) A liberal democracy has a limited state, and a constitutional democracy has a welfare state.
D) A liberal democracy does not have a constitution, and a constitutional democracy has a written, or codified, constitution.

Question 15

Even though equality of political rights is a principle of liberal democracy,the right to vote is universally denied to some groups in Western countries.What do these limitations suggest about the nature of voting rights?

A) They can be revoked in times of war.
B) They are not a good measure of equality of political rights
C) They are given to those with the ability to know and understand the political process.
D) They are given to individuals who choose to live by the rules of a society.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT usually considered a political right in contemporary Canada?

A) the right to have access to post-secondary education
B) the right to speak on public issues
C) the right to serve on a jury
D) the right to run for office

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT essential to a liberal democracy?

A) legitimate political opposition
B) freedom of association
C) directly elected head of state
D) political freedom

Question 18

Which of the following examples demonstrates a qualified majority requirement accomplishing its purpose?

A) Amendments to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires the support of two-thirds of the provinces.
B) Election to office requires the support of three-fourths of the population.
C) The appointment of public officials requires the support of three-fourths of cabinet ministers.
D) Passing any legislation requires the support of two-thirds of MPs in the House of Commons.

Question 19

The term democracy meant something different in the nineteenth century than it does today.Which ideologies best match the two different understandings of the term?

A) libertarianism and socialism
B) conservatism and reform liberalism
C) conservatism and classical liberalism
D) classical liberalism and reform liberalism

Question 20

Which term refers to a system of interests that are recognized or licensed by the state according to its dictated or recommended hierarchy?

A) corporatism
B) consociationalism
C) pluralism
D) polyarchy

Question 21

What is the term for when electors vote directly on legislation that originates in a legislative body?

A) coup d'état
B) referendum
C) initiative
D) recall

Question 22

The vast majority of citizens of country A wish to buy cheap resources from a neighbouring country that has been boycotted by the international community.The government of country A is a member of the international organization that imposed the boycott.What would this situation most likely lead to?

A) recall
B) crisis of governability
C) referendum
D) revolution

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a trait of democratic centralism?

A) a disciplined party
B) control flowing from the top of the party downwards
C) firm control of workers' organizations
D) constitutional opposition

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a mechanism of direct democracy?

A) recall
B) initiative
C) plebiscite
D) representation

Question 25

Which type of decision rule is the most difficult to achieve?

A) majority
B) unanimity
C) concurrent majority
D) qualified majority

Question 26

Which form of decision rule declares the candidate with the largest single total victorious,even if that candidate has less than 50 percent plus one of all the votes?

A) plurality
B) qualified majority
C) concurrent majority
D) majority

Question 27

In elections,what is a qualified majority requirement designed to make sure of?

A) that those who run for office are properly qualified
B) that the interests of the majority are properly represented
C) that the rights of minorities are protected
D) that the majority rules

Question 28

Which form of government is associated with contested elections and the existence of a legitimate opposition?

A) communism
B) people's democracies
C) democratic centralism
D) liberal democracy

Question 29

What is the most fundamental difference between traditional and modern elite?

A) Traditional elite were based in agriculture, while modern elite are more diverse.
B) Traditional elite were part of a small group of property-owners, while modern elite compete with many more property-owners.
C) Modern elite must be elected, traditional elite inherited their positions.
D) Modern elite must appeal to several groups; traditional elite were disconnected from the people.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a challenge to implementing greater direct democracy?

A) uninformed citizens
B) complexity of policy issues
C) technological limitations
D) voter fatigue

Question 31

Which term refers to a system in which elites and organized interests have a high degree of autonomy,including their own separate social institutions,and play a special and distinctive role?

A) corporatism
B) consociationalism
C) pluralism
D) polyarchy

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT an example of a politically free liberal democracy?

A) A state that allows all opposition parties to run in elections.
B) A state that bans certain anti-democratic parties, such as white supremacist groups, from running in elections.
C) A state with a constitution that bans political opposition.
D) A state that regulates the forms of action that political opposition can take.

Question 33

Which of the following would be an expected benefit of a nonbinding referendum?

A) The government would have no choice but to listen to the people.
B) The government would make policy decisions favoured by the majority of the population, or risk losing the next election
C) It would further encourage debate on controversial issues.
D) It would bring international attention to national problems.

Question 34

Even though a political party won only 36% of the votes in a national election,they form government.What is the most likely explanation for this in a liberal democracy?

A) They are working in a plurality electoral system.
B) They are a junta.
C) They changed electoral laws and regulations by amending the constitution.
D) They represent the elites in a consociational democracy.

Question 35

What assumption is James Mill's argument about limited election terms based on?

A) Politicians can only be trusted over short periods of time
B) Politicians will burn out after a short term and need to be replaced
C) Politicians will want to stay in power
D) Politicians are most ambitious in their first term in office.

Question 36

Which term refers to liberal democracies with different sources of power,in which autonomous groups compete freely and openly in the political process?

A) corporatist
B) consociationalist
C) pluralist
D) liberal democracy

Question 37

Which thinker would NOT be surprised by Quebec's use of the notwithstanding clause?

A) Socrates
B) Aristotle
C) Patrick Boyer
D) James Mill

Question 38

Given Conservative MP Patrick Boyer's stance on referendums,which statement would he be most likely to agree with?

A) Referendums require politicians to abandon electoral campaign platforms.
B) Referendums remind politicians that they are accountable to the people.
C) Referendums enslave politicians to the whims of the people.
D) Referendums slow the legislative process and complicate reform.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT an aspect of a qualified majority?

A) It may be done to make it harder for larger groups to act against the rights of smaller ones.
B) It is incorporated in modern democracies as part of the process of constitutional amendment.
C) It helps to protect the rights of minorities.
D) It sets a standard of qualification for voters.

Question 40

Which state most frequently uses direct democracy at the national level?

A) Australia
B) France
C) Switzerland
D) United States

Question 41

Which term is used by some authors to refer to a non-binding or advisory referendum?

A) plebiscite
B) recall
C) initiative
D) election

Question 42

In 2004,which president was able to remain in office by successfully surviving a recall vote with the support of 58 percent of the population?

A) Jacques Chirac
B) George W. Bush
C) Fidel Castro
D) Hugo Chavez

Question 43

Which statement best defines an elite?

A) a majority of the population that controls the decision-making process of a society
B) a minority of the population that makes the major decisions in society
C) a marginalized segment of the population
D) a rich, and well-connected minority of the population

Question 44

Which statement about corporatism is NOT true?

A) It is confined to dictatorial systems.
B) The components of the political process are arranged in a hierarchy.
C) The components of a corporatist political process are not equal.
D) The components of the political process are dependent on the state.

Question 45

Liberal democracy is a product of Western political experience.Where else has it been successful?

A) India
B) Indonesia
C) Libya
D) Mozambique

Question 46

Both traditional elite rule and consociational democracy make use of an elite group of society.What is the most fundamental difference between the two groups?

A) The elite in consociational societies are not the only property-owners in society.
B) The elite in consociational societies are not solely agrarian.
C) The elite in consociational societies horde wealth.
D) The elite in consociational societies represent wider interests.

Question 47

What is the only country whose head of state is subject to recall?

A) United States
B) Venezuela
C) France
D) Switzerland

Question 48

What conclusion can be drawn from the argument that recall is a better idea for the United States than it is for Canada?

A) In Canada, political parties are held accountable more than individual representatives
B) Canadians are more likely to respect election results.
C) Americans select candidates based on promises that cannot be kept.
D) It is more difficult to achieve widespread support in Canada than in the United States.

Question 49

In representative democracies elites are:

A) They are unified and conservative.
B) They are diverse and competitive.
C) They are open and liberal.
D) They remain detached from the desires of ordinary people.

Question 50

What has replaced the traditional elite structure in modern society?

A) direct democracy
B) a tyranny of the majority
C) a large middle class
D) an elite that dominates the social and political life

Question 51

Which of the following might be considered a traditional elite?

A) military aristocracy
B) political aristocracy
C) commercial aristocracy
D) agrarian/landed aristocracy

Question 52

A woman collects signatures from members of her community and environmental groups to protest the development of a large mining complex on the outskirts of town.Her efforts would be most likely to succeed in a state that honoured what practice?

A) recall
B) plebiscite
C) initiative
D) referendum

Question 53

What is one of the characteristics of corporatism?

A) the autonomy of interests in the political process
B) the dominance of the state and the subordination of activities and interests of society to it
C) a society composed of autonomous segments divided along linguistic, religious, or ethnic lines
D) the use of elites to resolve conflicts between cultures

Question 54

What did the French author Raymond Aron say about democratic societies?

A) They are polarized between owners of the means of production and trade unions.
B) They are divided between the rulers and the ruled.
C) They are characterized by a two-class dichotomy.
D) They have become pluralistic.

Question 55

Which type of society would be most likely to introduce donation limits to political parties?

A) polyarchy
B) consociational.
C) elitist
D) corporatist

Question 56

Going down to your local MP's office to voice your concern about recent reforms to environmental policies is an example of what?

A) democratic participation
B) representative democracy
C) direct democracy
D) initiative

Question 57

Which phrase best defines the term "recall" in a direct democracy?

A) politicians reintroducing past legislation
B) voters of a country removing the government from office
C) voters in a constituency removing their elected representative from office
D) voters in a constituency calling their representative back to give their views on an issue

Question 58

Who stated that a pluralist form of liberal democracy is a polyarchy?

A) John Stuart Mill
B) Adam Smith
C) Robert Dahl
D) Winston Churchill

Question 59

A concerned citizen group who opposed the city's dog by-law presented to city council a petition containing 50,000 signatures.According to another city by-law,the signatures were enough to trigger a vote on the dog by-law at the next election.What is this an example of?

A) referendum
B) initiative
C) representative democracy
D) recall

Question 60

Deep religious,cultural,or linguistic divides would be especially challenging in which political system?

A) consociational
B) pluralist
C) corporatist
D) elitist.

Question 61

The concept of majority rule means a candidate must obtain more votes than any other candidate.

Question 62

What does the term junta refer to?

A) a ruling elite, such as the military, forming a government especially after a revolution
B) the Spanish Armada invading Britain in 1788
C) the ruler of Mexico prior to the American invasion of 1856
D) the Spanish word for military occupation

Question 63

In which year were Aboriginal peoples in Canada granted the right to vote in federal elections?

A) 1867
B) 1920
C) 1960
D) 1982

Question 64

A state where political parties are limited,organizations cannot act without government licenses,and groups with closer ties to government have more power calls itself a liberal democracy.How is this possible?

A) It is not possible, the state is lying.
B) The state is a strict corporatist liberal democracy.
C) Citizens have personal rights involving religion, language, movement, etc.
D) Excessive powers were gained through constitutional reforms.

Question 65

The concept of majority rule means a winning candidate must obtain 50percentof the votes.

Question 66

Plurality is another word for qualified majority.

Question 67

The concept of majority rule means a winning candidate must obtain 50 percent plus one of the votes.

Question 68

What were the most recent Western European states to emerge from authoritarian rule?

A) Spain, Portugal, and Greece
B) Italy and Germany
C) Austria and Germany
D) Spain and Luxembourg

Question 69

Which of the following was NOT one of the underlying causes of the Arab Spring?

A) a high degree of government corruption
B) a lack of guaranteed political rights
C) a desire for democratic government
D) the blocking of internet and banning of social media

Question 70

Which form of direct democracy has the least support in Canada?

A) referendum
B) plebiscite
C) recall
D) initiative

Question 71

What does the concept of majority rule mean?

A) 50 percent
B) 50 percent plus one
C) 51 percent
D) more votes than the other candidate

Question 72

Venezuela is the only country where the head of the national government is subject to recall.

Question 73

Which country was the model for the concept of consociational democracy?

A) Nazi Germany
B) the Soviet Union
C) Canada
D) the Netherlands

Question 74

Democracy has been defined as rule by the people,for the people.Why is this deceiving when discussing modern liberal democracy?

A) It describes direct democracy, which is rare.
B) It described direct democracy, not liberal democracy.
C) It assumes majorities will not overrule minorities.
D) It suggests that all people have the franchise, when in fact there are limits.

Question 75

In terms of equality of political rights,which country is generally regarded as being the first democracy of modern times?

A) Russia
B) France
C) United States
D) Canada

Question 76

What did the Occupy Movement and the Arab Spring have in common?

A) Both were forms of democratic participation.
B) Both were successful in achieving their goals.
C) Both represented struggles against autocratic rule.
D) Both were initially suppressed.

Question 77

Protestors during of the Arab Spring would probably also be frustrated by which of the following issues?

A) crisis of governability
B) traditional elite rule
C) globalization
D) consociationalism

Question 78

Which is an initiative an example of?

A) direct democracy
B) referendum
C) recall
D) representative democracy

Question 79

On which of the following issues have federal referendums have been held in Canada?

A) the prohibition of alcohol
B) the banning of capital punishment
C) bilingualism
D) the creation of Nunavut

Question 80

Which of the following is generally associated with the term "grand coalition"?

A) pluralism
B) corporatism
C) consociationalism
D) communism