PS100: Cumulative Final

Covers entirety of UIUC PS 100 Sp 2024 course. Includes repeats/variants. Taken from (practice) tests/exams and also made from.

Can representative democracies add a component of direct democracy?

Yes. Example: Referendums

What are the 3 features that make a country adopt federalism?

large size, ethnic diversity, tradition of self-government

Compare US/UK Constitution

US: one document
UK: multiple documents over multiple years

US/UK limited or unlimited governments?

US: limited
UK: limited

do the US/UK have a component of direct democracy?

US: nope
UK: yes, referendums

US/UK legislature-executive relationship

US: separation of power
UK: connection of power

US/UK unitary or federal government?

US: federal
UK: unitary

what are two key concepts of the US constitution?

federalism, separation of power

the key to winning the electoral college system in the US is to....

win individual states, particularly where the two parties are competitive

in the US, is the president responsible to the legislative majority?

no

in the UK, is the prime minister responsible to the legislative majority?

yes

TRUE OR FALSE: in the US the deadlock would not happen as long as the president's party control both houses of congress

false, deadlock is always possible

what happens when the prime minister loses the vote of no confidence?

a new election is called in a short amount of time

during a re-election due to a vote of confidence, could legislative seats change?

yes

Are parties unique to democracies?

No

What was the main reason for party identification?

Believing the other party's policies was bad/would harm the country

(T/F) American parties are more disciplined than parties in other countries

False

(T/F) American parties are NOT as disciplined as parties in other coutntries

True

What party system does the US have?

Two party system

Which party system best aligns with the principle of a separation of power?

Multi-party sytem

Why do parties and social orgs. desire power?

Parties: sake of mastery
Social orgs: advancing their own interest

What is the difficult combination?

Multi party and presidential system

In Great Britain, the executive is the cabinet, which is headed by the...

prime minister

What institutional features of the American political system make it harder for US presidents to work cooperatively with the legislature?

Separation of power (independently elected House, Senate, and President)

When can deadlock occur in the US?

At any time

UK/US government system

UK: parliament
US: presidential

_____________refers to government provisions for, or contributions to, individual needs foremployment, income, food, housing, health care, and literacy

welfare

direct democracy vs. representative democracy

direct: people vote directly
representative: elected representative vote

(T/F) the structure of government in a failed state is prone to dramatic states over time

true

How does separation of power split the national government?

Legislative, executive, judicial

What is a political party

An organized group that seeks to elect candidates to party.

Political parties provide a context...

in which citizens can understand a complex political world

Does the prime minister have a certain time limit?

No

What are the two types of social cleavages?

Reinforcing, cross cutting

According to Duverger's theory, when are you likely to see many parties in a country?

many social cleavages and electoral system is proportional

What type of cleavages is more likely to cause a greater number of parties?

cross cutting cleavages

According to the logic of Duverger's theory, if the United States changed its electoral rules and adopted a permissive form of PR (with large district magnitudes), what do you predict wouldhappen?

the number of parties in the legislature would INCREASE

Is political culture generally considered a formal or an informal political institution?

Informal, it is not written in the laws

That values, attitudes, habits, and behavior patterns are important to understanding a country refers to the idea of...

political culture

Almond and Verba believed that it was possible to study culture by conducting________________and asking individuals about their feeling toward political institutions, actors, and processes. Whatis this social science research method?

survey

Robert Putnam argues that the presence of ______ explains the variation in political and economicperformance exhibited by regional governments within a country. It captures norms of reciprocityand networks of civic engagement. What is this concept?

social capital

(T/F) In disproportional electoral systems, the mechanical effect rewards large parties and punishes small ones

true

The number of regimes located between democracies and autocracies have....

increased

Authoritarian vs totalitarian regime

Authoritarian only controls politics, totalitarian controls all aspects of life

if there is low social heterogeneity and PR how many political parties will there be?

few

what does PR (high permissiveness) mean

proportional system

what does SMDP (low permissiveness) mean

nonproportional system

which electoral system does the us have?

nonproportional

based on electoral permissiveness table, what combination is the US?

high social heterogeneity, SMDP, few parties

according to the logic of Duveger's theory, if a country with a heterogeneous society (many cleavages) switched from its current permissive electoral rules to a disproportional system, what would you expect to happen to its party system?

number of parties in legislature decrease

In a proportional electoral system, the mechanical effect rewards...

small parties

In a NONproportional electoral system, the mechanical effect rewards...

large parties

___ is a view that focuses on the institutions and procedures of each system to differentiate between democracies and autocracies

procedural view of democracy

____ helps us discern more authoritarian dictatorships from less authoritarian dictatorships.

Polity IV

what is the main reason Trump is obsessed with exaggerating his crowd sizes

he derives legitimacy from mass opinion

populism is called a ___ ideology

thin

(T/F) Populism is called a "thin" ideology because it calls for kicking out the political establishment, but it does not specify what should replace it

true

What sides of the political spectrum can populism arise from?

any

What aspects of democracy does the freedom house indicator look at?

procedural, substantial

What aspects of democracy does the DD measure and Polity IV look at?

procedural

What is the main difference between the DD measure and Polity IV?

Polity IV is on a spectrum

What is the view that focuses on the outcome of democracy....

substantive

does the Polity IV indicator consider the substantive part of democracy at all?

no

what facilitated the emergence of democracy?

decolonization, fall of Soviet Union

…

what party are populist from?

any

…

why is populism a "thin ideology"

it does not specify what the outcome should be

Which of the following is NOT the feature that UK and US have in common?

a. Limited government

b. bicameral legislature

c. Non-proportional electoral system

d. The connection of power between the legislative and executive

d. The connection of power between the legislative and executive

Which of the following is a feature that makes a country adopt federalism?

a. Small size

b. Ethnic homogeneity

c. A history of local self-governance

d. A tradition of the connection of power

c. A history of local self-governance

What institutional features of the US political system make it harder for the US president to work cooperatively with the legislature?

a. The fact that the power is connected between the national government and the regional government.

b. The fact that the president is not responsible for the majority of the legislature.

c. The fact that the president is elected by the members of the House and Senate.

d. The fact that members of the legislature can call for a vote of no confidence against the US president whenever they want.

b. The fact that the president is not responsible for the majority of the legislature.

Which of the following is correct about government deadlock/shutdown?

a. The likelihood of government deadlock would be lowered if the US adopts a proportional representation electoral system.

b. In general, government deadlock is more likely to happen in parliamentary regimes than it is the case in presidential regimes.

c. In the US, the deadlock would not happen as long as the president’s party controls both houses of congress.

d. In parliamentary regimes, the disagreement between the government and congress often leads to a dissolution of the government.

d. In parliamentary regimes, the disagreement between the government and congress often leads to a dissolution of the government.

Which of the following is NOT correct about the prime minister?

a. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister controls both legislature and executive.

b. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister has no power to organize the cabinet.

c. When the prime minister loses support from the legislative majority, the legislature has the power to replace the prime minister.

d. There is no certain term limit for the prime minister.

b. In the parliamentary system, the prime minister has no power to organize the cabinet.

American parties are more disciplined than parties in other countries.
a. true

b. false

b. false

Which of the following is the so-called ‘difficult combination” that is likely to create political deadlock?

a. Presidential system & federalism

b. Parliamentary system & multi-party system

c. Presidential system & multi-party system

d. Presidential system & bicameralism

c. Presidential system & multi-party system

If a prime minister loses the vote of no confidence, the prime minister has the power to designate a new prime minister from his/her party before stepping down from power.

a. True

b. False

b. False

According to the logic of Duverger’s theory, if a very homogenous country with a majoritarian electoral system changed its electoral rules and adopted a permissive form of PR (with large district magnitudes), what do you predict would happen?

a. The government deadlock is less likely to happen than before.

b. The number of parties in the legislature would increase.

c. The number of parties in the legislature would decrease.

d. The number of parties in the legislature would remain about the same

d. The number of parties in the legislature would remain about the same

Select the dilemma that is NOT resolved in a constitution?

a. separation or connection of powers

b. limited or unlimited government

c. capitalist or socialist ideology

d. federalism or unitary government

c. capitalist or socialist ideology

According to Duverger’s theory, when are you likely to see many parties in a country?

a. When the country has many politically cross-cutting cleavages and the electoral system is proportional.

b. When the country uses a proportional representation electoral system.

c. When the country has many politically salient cleavages.

d. When the country has many politically reinforcing cleavages and the electoral system is not proportional.

a. When the country has many politically cross-cutting cleavages and the electoral system is proportional.

Which of the following is correct about measures of democracy and dictatorship?

a. Polity measure follows the substantive view of democracy.

b. Polity measure considers political culture and social capital in measuring the level of democracy.

c. Polity measure is the only measure that takes into account the procedural view of democracy.

d. Polity measure helps us discern more authoritarian dictatorships from less authoritarian dictatorships

d. Polity measure helps us discern more authoritarian dictatorships from less authoritarian dictatorships

Which of the following is a feature of populism?

a. Vilification of political opponents as inherently illegitimate

b. Populism sees the elites and the educated as the sole legitimate power.

c. Emphasis on representative democracy.

d. Distrust of poll and mass opinion

a. Vilification of political opponents as inherently illegitimate

Which of the following is INCORRECT about the trade-off between military and welfare spending?

a. State provides security through military spending and economic well-being through welfare provision.

b. Rich countries tend to allocate more for the military than they do for education and health care.

c. In poor countries, military spending tends to more seriously detract from money allocated for welfare and economic well-being.

d. Failed states provide no security and welfare for their citizens

b. Rich countries tend to allocate more for the military than they do for education and health care.

Which of the following is NOT correct?

a. In general, small parties are better off under proportional electoral systems.

b. In disproportional electoral systems, the mechanical effect rewards large parties and punishes small ones.

c. Electoral institutions influence how social divisions are translated into political parties.

d. The more reinforcing the social cleavages are, the greater the demand for distinctive representation and the greater the demand for political parties.

d. The more reinforcing the social cleavages are, the greater the demand for distinctive representation and the greater the demand for political parties.

Historic materialism means a major societal change arising from the clash of two opposing ideas, forces, or social contradictions. (T/F)

False

Many concerned that communism would eventually lead to totalitarianism or authoritarianism. Which of the following is NOT correct about the link between communism and authoritarianism/totalitarianism?
A. Supporters of communism believe that communism is incompatible with democracy.
B. Totalitarianism is an ecology that espouses the complete political and social control of people.
C. Authoritarianism is a political stance that favors placing political power in the hands of an elite group or a dictator.
D. The single party ruling of the communist party is the institutional foundation that links communism and authoritarianism

A. Supporters of communism believe that communism is incompatible with democracy.

According to the article, Marx believed that human nature is inherent and unchangeable, leading to his vision of a communist society (T/F)

False

This is a discussion of what we expect to be most likely answers to our research questions. Through this, researchers define concepts

Theory

All scientific statements are falsifiable statements.

True

Which component of the scientific method is a testable implication of a proposed relationship?

hypothesis

If two variables are negatively correlated (more of A means less of B), what does this tell us about the causal relationship between A

Nothing for certain

What is a tautology

A statement that's based on a definition - not falsifiable

What is a dynamic that occurs when some other factor causes changes in both the dependent and independent variables simultaneously

spurious relationship

What is the process of using the fact we know to learn about facts we do not know.

inference

The dependent variable is the phenomenon that we want to explain. (T/F)

True

What was one of the main reasons for the collapse of communism in the soviet union and its satellites

A. nherent flaws in marx's depiction of communism
B. the failure to provide a competitive standard of living compared to capitalist economies
C. lack of interest from marx in how a communist society would function

B. the failure to provide a competitive standard of living compared to capitalist economies

Dialectical change indicates a view that economic structure determines how society is organized (T/F)

False, this is a definition of historic materialism

Which of the following is NOT the ideal of Communism
A. dictatorship of proletariats
B. no government
C. no private ownership resources
D. distributed according to one's abilities

D. resources distributed according to one's abilities - the other options are ideals

Which political thinker believed that people in the state of nature were doomed to live a life that is "solitary, poor. nasty, brutish and short"

thomas hobbes

Plato famous work

the republic