Deck 5: Democracies, Democratization, and Authoritarian Regimes

Question 1

According to Freedom House, in 2013 there were ______ electoral democracies in the world.

Answer 1

122

Question 2

Why do people generally prefer democracy over other forms of state organization?

A) They value autonomy and freedom
B) They want to be dictated to by politicians
C) All other forms of state organization have failed
D) It is all they know

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Democracy has always been an exclusively Western practice.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Why might the existence of a strong middle class have an influence on a country's development?

A) The middle classes are more likely to migrate to other countries for financial opportunities and send back money to relatives, bolstering the economy.
B) The middle class places a great deal of trust in those in power.
C) A strong middle class means a greater number of professions such as doctors, lawyers, and so on, which aids a country's development.
D) The interests of the middle class lead them to challenge elites and to demand a share in national affairs, which can only be fulfilled in a democracy.

Question 5

Name one of the principle benefits of 'transitology'.

Question 6

'Transitology' may be problematic because…

A) It suffers from over-simplification.
B) It assumes that states in transition necessarily move towards democracy, which is not always the case.
C) It gives a false sense of security to states in transition, when in fact radical change is almost always chaotic and difficult to control.
D) All of the above.

Question 7

Who proposed the 'polyarchy' model of democracy?

A) John Keane.
B) Robert Dahl.
C) Larry Diamond.
D) Thomas Carothers.

Question 8

What is the benefit of using a typology of democratic regimes such as that of Møller and Skaaning?
b. That it shows how democracy may be deepened.

Question 9

The Freedom House Index and Transparency International measure the extent of corruption in a country.

Question 10

France is classed as a 'complete democracy' according to all democracy indexes.

Question 11

Explain why the label 'liberal democracy' might be problematic when applied to India.

Question 12

Another example of a country where the label 'liberal democracy' may be problematic is __________?______.

A) China
B) Singapore
C) Turkey

Question 13

Name at least one factor that has contributed to the revival of authoritarianism since the 1990s.
a. Failed transitions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, Libya, and Syria.
b. The increasing level of sophistication of many authoritarian regimes, for example in China.
c. The growing internationalization of the confrontation between democratic and authoritarian regimes, including the greater willingness of some authoritarian regimes to interfere in the internal affairs of others (for example, Saudi Arabia).

Question 14

Identify a key difference between authoritarian regimes and democracies.
a. Policy outcomes: authoritarian regimes tend to spend less on social programmes, wages, and environmental policies, than democracies.
b. Authoritarian regimes tend to attract less foreign investment than democracies, possibly due to a weaker stance on enforcing property rights.
c. Authoritarian regimes offer more opportunities for corruption than democracies.
d. Authoritarian regimes tend to have higher birth and death rates than democracies.

Question 15

What are some of the positive and negative aspects of democracy?