Comparative Politics Midterm Exam Review

Core concepts encompass the state, regime, legitimacy, and governments.
Methodological frameworks focus on competing approaches to studying politics, research designs, and associated methodological trade-offs.

Regime Types and Classifications:
- Distinctions between democratic and authoritarian regimes, including the origins of democracy and democratic breakdown.
- Authoritarian regime variation, power retention mechanisms, and competitive authoritarian or hybrid regimes.
Democratic System Variations:
- Electoral institutions: Proportional representation versus majoritarian / first-past-the-post systems.
- Executive-legislative relations: Parliamentary versus presidential systems.
Consequences of Institutional Design:
- First-past-the-post legislative systems correspond with two-party systems.
- Broader economic and social outcomes relate to Blackbaud's patterns of democracy and the distinction between consensus and majoritarian models.

Timing and Materials:
- Total test time is $50\text{ minutes}$ ( $75\text{ minutes}$ to an hour and a half for testing accommodations).
- Administered on Wednesday as a printed three- to four-page exam requiring only a pen or pencil; no blue books are needed.
- Comprises approximately $38$ total questions, typically completed within $25$ to $30\text{ minutes}$ .
Exam Sections:
- Term Identification: Requires supplying the term matching a provided definition; worth $2\text{ points}$ each with no word bank provided.
- Multiple Choice: $15$ questions drawn from lectures, recitations, and readings (primarily the O'Neill textbook); worth $2\text{ points}$ each.
- Short Answer: $5$ questions worth $10\text{ points}$ each; requires responses of two to three sentences based on major class topics and readings.

Review O'Neill textbook chapters, end-of-chapter key term glossaries, and online chapter quizzes.
Align lecture notes with heavily emphasized readings, including works by Linz and Leipart.
Prepare concrete country examples for theoretical concepts tested in short answers, including electoral systems, executive structures, and authoritarian or hybrid regimes.
Review past quizzes posted on Canvas to reinforce key definitions and resolve prior errors.

Availability of Word Banks and Quizzes:
- Question/Prompt: Inquiry regarding whether a word bank will be supplied and if previous quizzes will be accessible for review.
- Response: No word bank will be provided on the exam; past quizzes are published on Canvas for study purposes.
Scholarly Names and Context:
- Question/Prompt: Clarification on whether specific scholar names must be memorized and cited directly.
- Response: Prompts will provide author context directly (e.g., referencing Leipart regarding critiques of majoritarian democracy, critiques of presidential systems, or Levitsky and Ziplash regarding how democracy dies) rather than testing proper nouns in isolation.
Short Answer Expectations:
- Question/Prompt: Guidance on formatting and answering multi-part short answer prompts.
- Response: Each part of the prompt must be answered fully—including required real-world examples—within two to three concise sentences.
Grading Policies and Media Coverage:
- Question/Prompt: Inquiries regarding grading curves, extra credit, and whether film material will appear on the exam.
- Response: Grades align with a planned course distribution, with potential adjustments considered later in the term if necessary; the film (Argentina by ten) is not covered on the exam.