QUESTIONS

These questions can be used to test your detailed knowledge of each chapter. Make a note of your answers and then consult the answers page on this website. The answers section also gives you a cross-reference to the page of the text where the particular topic is discussed.

CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS POLITICS?

1. Authority is

a) specialist knowledge
b) high office
c) legitimate power
d) compliance with rules

2. In its classical definition, politics is

a) absolute power
b) the art of manipulation
c) the art of compromise
d) the art of government.

3. Governance is

a) ways of co-ordinating social life
b) the machinery of government
c) hierarchical organisation
d) public-private partnerships

4. Power is

a) the ability to control what people think
b) the ability to influence the behaviour of others
c) the winning of elections
d) ultimately backed up by force

5. Who declared that 'man is by nature a political animal'?

a) Marx
b) Arendt
c) Plato
d) Aristotle

6. Who wish to protect civil society from state interference?

a) liberals
b) Marxists
c) feminists
d) democrats

7. Marxists view politics as

a) revolution
b) the proletariat
c) ideological manipulation
d) a reflection of the class system

8. Which of these attempted to develop a science of politics?

a) postmodernism
b) behaviouralism
c) rational-choice theory
d) institutionalism


CHAPTER 2: GOVERNMENTS, SYSTEMS AND REGIMES

1. Government is

a) a mechanism through which ordered rule is maintained
b) an institutional arrangement for responding to public opinion
c) constitutionally-based authority
d) a sovereign political association

2. Aristotle classified governments on the basis of

a) 'who governs the government?'
b) 'who decides distribution?' and 'who benefits from distribution?'
c) 'who rules?'
d) 'who rules?' and 'who benefits from rule?'

3. Totalitarianism is

a) a system of one-party rule
b) an all-encompassing system of political rule
c) open terror and brutality
d) the underlying nature of fascism and communism

4. The idea of the 'end of history' suggest that

a) history tells us nothing
b) liberal democracy has triumphed worldwide
c) Marx's predictions have proved to be wrong
d) scientific thinking has displaced tradition and religious dogma

5. Polyarchy is

a) rule by the few
b) rule by the many
c) rule by all
d) rule by one

6. Consociational democracies are characterised by

a) centralisation and majority rule
b) weak and ineffective party systems
c) the regular use of referendums
d) pluralistic and consensual tendencies

7. Regimes in which democratic consolidation is incomplete are

a) new democracies
b) postcommunist regimes
c) Confucian regimes
d) semi-democracies

8. Authoritarianism is

a) authority put into practice
b) monarchical absolutism
c) a belief in, or practice of, government 'from above'
d) extra-constitutional political rule


CHAPTER 3: POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

1. Political ideology is

a) a scientific theory of politics
b) a utopian model of a future society
c) a prescribed and institutionalised set of truths
d) a set of ideas that provides the basis for organised political action

2. The core principle of liberalism is

a) collectivism
b) individualism
c) egalitarianism
d) constitutionalism

3. Modern liberals believe in

a) qualified social and economic intervention
b) laissez-faire economics
c) state collectivization
d) individual responsibility and self-help

4. Conservatives value tradition because

a) it reflects public opinion
b) it recaptures a 'golden age'
c) it reflects the accumulated wisdom of the past
d) it is the antidote to human imperfection

5. The liberal New Right wishes to

a) 'roll forward' the frontiers of the state
b) 'roll back' the frontiers of the state
c) combat permissiveness and the cult of 'doing one's own thing'
d) strengthen community in the face of growing individualism

6. Marx believed that a communist society would be based on

a) the rule of the vanguard party
b) state control of the means of production
c) a system of central planning
d) common ownership of productive wealth

7. Social democracy wishes to

a) establish a 'third way' alternative to capitalism and socialism
b) bring all major industries into public ownership
c) combat capitalist 'hegemony'
d) 'humanize' capitalism by ensuring a more just distribution of rewards

8. Which ideology holds that order and social stability can arise naturally

a) anarchism
b) feminism
c) environmentalism
d) fascism


CHAPTER 4: DEMOCRACY

1. Democracy is based on the principle of

a) social equality
b) legal equality
c) political equality
d) gender equality

2. Direct democracy is based on

a) the direct and continuous participation of citizens in the tasks of government
b) limited and infrequent popular participation in government
c) rule by the better-educated for the benefit of the less well-educated
d) the notion of an electoral mandate

3. The Athenian model of democracy is based on

a) regular and competitive elections
b) the frequent use of referendums
c) government by mass meeting
d) debate and discussion amongst representatives

4. Whose ideas suggested that democracy would result in 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number'

a) Rousseau
b) J. S. Mill
c) de Tocqueville
d) Bentham

5. Liberals have feared democracy because

a) it leads to argument and intensified conflict
b) it may result in 'the tyranny of the majority'
c) it allows politicians to manipulate and confuse the general public
d) it breeds selfishness and weakens the idea of the common good

6. Pluralists believe that

a) political power is widely and evenly dispersed in modern societies
b) elite groups exercise disproportional influence
c) competition between and amongst groups results in stagnation
d) pressure groups are a threat to the democratic process

7. The New Right associates democracy with

a) the decline of public authority
b) growing selfishness and permissiveness
c) the emergence of a 'contented majority'
d) the problem of government 'overload'

8. Marxists have criticized liberal democracy because

a) communist parties are not fairly treated in capitalist states
b) electoral processes are never free and fair
c) it provides no scope for functional representation
d) social inequality means that formal political equality is a sham


CHAPTER 5: THE STATE

1. The state is

a) a collective term for the institutions of government
b) a system of legally constructed authority
c) a political association that establishes sovereign rule within defined borders
d) a collection of private bodies that manage community matters

2. Pluralists regard the state as

a) a neutral arbiter amongst competing groups
b) an independent actor which acquires interests of its own
c) a temporary institution destined to 'wither away'
d) a vehicle through which capitalist interests are upheld

3. Who described the state as 'a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie'?

a) Galbraith
b) Gramsci
c) Marx
d) Lenin

4. Public-choice theorists portray the state as

a) an 'umpire' or 'referee' in society
b) an autonomous entity that pursues its own interests
c) a means of containing the contradictions of the capitalist system
d) a means of escaping from the 'state of nature'

5. Radical feminists view the state as

a) a reflection of the power of big business
b) a reflection of the patriarchal structure of society
c) biased against women because they are under-represented in government
d) hopelessly flawed and in need of abolition

6. It is legitimate for a minimal state to

a) provide welfare support for the needy or less well-off
b) provide education and training to ensure a highly skilled population
c) protect domestic industry from unfair foreign competition
d) enforce contractual agreements made between private citizens

7. Who viewed the state as an 'ethical community'?

a) Hegel
b) Hitler
c) Hayek
d) Keynes

8. Globalization undermines the state because

a) anti-globalization protesters organize civil disobedience campaigns
b) power within the state has been transferred to regional and local bodies
c) state officials have abandoned an ethos of public service
d) national economic strategies have become unworkable


CHAPTER 6: NATIONS AND NATIONALISM

1. A nation is

a) a group of people who share common descent and are biologically similar
b) a group of people who live within the borders of the same state
c) a group of people bound together by a common language, religion, history and traditions
d) a group of people bound together by shared political values and ideological beliefs

2. Who argued that nationalism developed out of the process of modernization?

a) Wagner
b) Herder
c) Garvey
d) Gellner

3. Cultural nationalism is

a) a form of nationalism that places primary emphasis on the regeneration of the nation as a distinctive civilization
b) a form of nationalism that places primary emphasis on the achievement of statehood
c) a form of nationalism that is based on 'invented traditions'
d) a form of nationalism that attempts to spread an elite, or 'higher', culture

4. Nations are 'imagined' communities in that

a) many nations still lack statehood
b) many states contain more than one nation
c) nationalism is a form of ruling-class ideology
d) face-to-face interaction does not sustain the notion of a common, national identity

5. Liberal nationalism is based on the principle of

a) national self-interest
b) national superiority
c) national self-determination
d) international competition

6. Conservatives value nationalism because

a) it strengthens and protects sovereignty
b) it promotes cosmopolitanism and international understanding
c) it promotes political cohesion by strengthening traditional values and institutions
d) it provides a basis for national expansion and conquest

7. Expansionist nationalism is often associated with

a) liberalism
b) Marxism
c) racialism
d) anti-colonialism

8. Multiculturalism means that

a) national identity is constructed on the basis of a shared culture
b) conflict between different cultures is inevitable
c) communal diversity is positively endorsed on the basis of cultural rights
d) cultural identities will dissolve as different groups intermingle and inter-marry

9. Who are argued that conflicts of values are intrinsic to human life?

a) Burke
b) Berlin
c) Parekh
d) J. S. Mill


CHAPTER 7: GLOBAL POLITICS

1. The idealist perspective on world politics holds that

a) international conflicts are, at heart, moral or intellectual conflicts
b) the international system is characterised by harmony amongst competing groups and interests
c) international politics should be understood from the perspective of moral values and legal norms
d) war should always be a political tactic of last resort

2. Who developed an early vision of world government?

a) Kant
b) Wilson
c) Marx
d) Hobbes

3. Realism places an emphasis on

a) international diplomacy
b) power politics
c) international harmony
d) the pursuit of economic goals

4. The Cold War period is associated with

a) a unipolar international system
b) a multipolar international system
c) a tripolar international system
d) a bipolar international system

5. Chomsky is associated with the view that

a) the USA has become the 'world's police force'
b) a 'new world order' has come into existence
c) the 'new' world order, like the old world order, is US-dominated
d) international politics is increasingly characterised by supranational cooperation

6. Globalization is

a) the domination of national and local bodies by global ones
b) the emergence of a complex web of interconnectedness
c) a process that has rendered national borders completely irrelevant
d) the emergence of a common global culture and the eradication of diversity

7. Globalization is linked to regionalization because

a) states are encouraged to form regional blocs to resist the pressures of economic globalization
b) states form regional organizations to help lobby bodies of global economic governance
c) regional organizations are more effective in resisting ethnic pressures and resolving ethnic conflicts
d) regional organizations are able to mobilize democratic forces weakened by globalization

8. European integration has been supported because

a) it leads to the erosion of national sovereignty
b) it allows large and economically powerful states to dominate weaker ones
c) it makes the work of the United Nations more transparent and efficient
d) 'pooling' sovereignty enables European states to exercise greater influence on the world stage


CHAPTER 8: SUBNATIONAL POLITICS

1. Confederations generally prove to be unsustainable because

a) they are over-centralized
b) they possess no decision-making mechanism
c) they lack cultural unity
d) they lack executive authority and cannot ensure concerted action

2. Federal systems are characterized by

a) the principle of shared sovereignty
b) strong and effective executive authority
c) sovereignty located in peripheral bodies
d) a fusion of legislative and executive authority

3. Federalism is particularly appropriate to

a) powerful states
b) weak states
c) fractured and diverse societies
d) culturally unified societies

4. Sovereignty in unified systems is located in

a) local government
b) central government
c) devolved bodies
d) supranational bodies

5. Devolution is

a) the transfer of power from local bodies to central government
b) the transfer of power from central government to subordinate regional institutions
c) a sharing of power between central and local institutions
d) a sharing of power between regional and local bodies

6. Ethnic nationalism tends to have left-wing character when

a) it has developed in 'core' areas that are integrated into the global economy
b) it has developed in 'peripheral' areas that suffer from economic subordination
c) it develops in rural or predominantly agricultural areas
d) it develops through the impact of industrialization

7. Ethnic groups may be stronger than nations because

a) they are based on ties of blood and racial unity
b) they are based on language and religious factors
c) they are rooted in a shared past and unifying traditions
d) they are able to generate a deeper sense of 'organic' identity

8. Who emphasised that community is based on the maintenance of social and moral codes?

a) Durkheim
b) Tönnes
c) Gellner
d) Malcolm X

9. Communitarianism is

a) the belief that local communities are more important than nations
b) the belief that the community is more important than the individual
c) the belief that the self or person is constituted through the community
d) the belief that we should live in whichever community we wish


CHAPTER 9: THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

1. A capitalist economy is characterized by

a) generalized commodity production
b) productive wealth being publicly or commonly owned
c) economic regulation through government
d) cooperation and working for the collective interest

2. Enterprise capitalism is based on

a) hard work by all members of society
b) the untrammelled workings of market competition
c) public ownership of the 'commanding heights' of the economy
d) government support for strong and prosperous enterprises

3. A social market is

a) a market in which economic decisions are based social considerations
b) a means of distributing social benefits through market practices
c) an economy in which the market generates wealth but distribution aims to maintain social cohesion
d) an economy in which social principles have priority over economic ones

4. The laissez-faire principle is based on

a) the acceptance of greed as morally good
b) the belief that inflation is a more serious economic problem than unemployment
c) an obsession with profit maximization and a tendency towards short-termism
d) the belief that an unregulated market economy tends naturally towards equilibrium

5. Keynesianism is associated with

a) attempts to stimulate the supply-side of the economy
b) the control of inflation through the regulation of the money supply
c) demand management aimed at ensuring full employment
d) the promotion of free trade and economic liberalization

6. Central planning had the disadvantage that

a) it focused on consumer goods at the expense of long-term investment
b) it focused on long-term investment rather than consumer goods
c) it was economically inefficient because planning systems could not handle the range and complexity of information in the economy
d) planners were so well-rewarded that they became lazy and complacent

7. The underclass are

a) people who are too lazy to work
b) people who suffer from multiple forms of deprivation
c) a 'discontented minority'
d) ethnic minority groups

8. Gender is

a) a social construct usually based on stereotypes of 'feminine' and 'masculine' behaviour
b) a biological distinction between males and females
c) a distinction that draws attention to differences between those in the 'private' sphere and those in the 'public' sphere
d) the idea that women and men are fundamentally different and should always live separate lives


CHAPTER 10: POLITICAL CULTURE, COMMUNICATION AND LEGITIMACY

1. Political culture is

a) the ideas, values and beliefs of professional politicians
b) people's psychological orientation towards political objects
c) people's reactions to specific issues, policies and political problems
d) political values and beliefs that have been inherited from previous generations

2. Whose writings discus the idea of civic culture?

a) Marx and Engels
b) Almond and Verba
c) Marcuse
d) Abercrombie, Hill and Turner

3. Gramsci is associated with the idea that

a) the political culture is a decisive determinate of sustainable democracy
b) political stability requires a level of apathy and passivity amongst citizens
c) the spiritual and cultural supremacy of the ruling class helps to uphold the capitalist class system
d) 'participant', 'subject' and 'parochial' elements can all be identified within the political culture

4. The pluralist model of the mass media portrays the media as

a) an ideological market place in which a wide range of political views are debated and discussed
b) a politically conservative force that is aligned to the interests of economic and social elites
c) a set of institutions whose biases are shaped by the views of its senior professionals
d) a set of institutions whose political biases are shaped by a concern with profit maximization and the desire to extend market share

5. Social capital is

a) assets that are used in the production of goods and services
b) the social ideas of the capitalist class
c) a bedrock of traditional values and established beliefs
d) social connectedness as represented by networks and trust that promote civic engagement

6. Who distinguished between three types of authority?

a) Putnam
b) Weber
c) Inglehart
d) Habermas

7. Legitimation crises occur when

a) the dynamics of capitalism make it difficult to maintain political stability through consent alone
b) governments find it increasingly difficult to govern because they are subject to 'over-demand'
c) the proletariat eventually recognises the fact of its own exploitation and become a revolutionary force
d) conventional democratic processes are ineffective in ensuring public accountability

8. Systems theory suggests that revolutions occur when

a) the contradictions of capitalism can no longer be contained through bourgeois hegemony
b) governments relax their grip after a long period of oppressive rule
c) states are no longer able to count upon the loyalty of their armed forces or experience a crisis of political will
d) the political system experiences disequilibrium, in that its 'outputs' are no longer in line with 'inputs'


CHAPTER 11: REPRESENTATION, ELECTIONS AND VOTING

1. The trusteeship model of representation suggests that

a) representatives are an educated elite who are better able to judge the public interest than are the represented
b) representatives are conduits who convey the views of others, acting on clear guidance and instructions
c) representation must always be based on competitive and democratic election
d) all political views are of equal value

2. Who argued for 'frequent interchange' between representatives and constituents in the form of short terms in office?

a) Burke
b) Schumpeter
c) Proudhon
d) Paine

3. Referendums have the advantage that

a) they are quick and effective ways of making political decisions
b) they relieve the decision-making burden on politicians, who can then concentrate on more important matters
c) they help to create a more educate and better informed electorate
d) they allow the media to shape the values and opinions of the general public

4. Elections do not ensure effective representation because

a) the public does not participate directly and continuously in the affairs of government
b) the electorate has no effective means of ensuring that mandates are carried out and that the government is characteristic of the larger society
c) political participation increases the public's expectations of the political system
d) whoever wins elections, professional politicians remain in power

5. Proportional electoral systems

a) typically ensure that a single party gains a parliamentary majority
b) always prevents a single party from gaining a parliamentary majority
c) ensure a close relationship between the seats won by a party and the votes gained in the election
d) are always based on multi-member constituencies

6. The single-member plurality system is commonly known as

a) the 'wasted votes' system
b) the 'strong and stable government' system
c) the 'mandate' system
d) the 'first post the post' system

7. Who advanced the notion of the 'general will'?

a) Downs
b) Arrow
c) Rousseau
d) Campbell

8. The party-identification model of voting behaviour suggests that

a) voting is based on psychological attachments that people have towards political parties
b) voting is based on the economic and social position of groups in society
c) the pursuit of self-interest by individual voters
d) the structuring of electoral choice via a dominant ideology


CHAPTER 12: PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEMS

1. A political party is

a) a section or group within a larger political formation
b) a group of people organized for the purpose of influencing government policy
c) a loose and diffuse body of people who share similar aspirations
d) a group of people that is organized for the purpose of winning government power.

2. 'Catch-all parties' are characterized by

a) weak ideological identities
b) a politically active elite that is capable of offering ideological leadership
c) the desire to mobilize, educate and inspire the masses
d) the acknowledgement of the rights and entitlements of rival political parties

3. Which of these values is usually associated with the political Right?

a) liberty
b) fraternity
c) hierarchy
d) internationalism

4. Who advanced the 'iron law of oligarchy'?

a) Ostrogorski
b) Lenin
c) Michels
d) Duverger

5. One-party systems are characterised by

a) a single party remaining in power for a prolonged period
b) a fused party-state apparatus
c) the rule of a single supreme leader
d) Marxist-Leninist ideology

6. Two-party systems have been praised because

a) they deliver strong but accountable government
b) they widen the electoral choice
c) they ensure the representation of minority groups and interests
d) they result in ideological polarization and keep consensus at bay

7. Multiparty systems have been praised because

a) they deliver strong, stable and effective government
b) they are biased in favour of debate, conciliation and compromise
c) they ensure mandate democracy
d) they deliver programmic party government

8. Political parties may be in decline because

a) they cannot advertise on television
b) more parties are developing 'anti-system' stances
c) party democracy has made policy formation increasingly difficult
d) old social, religious and other solidarities have given way to new aspirations and political sensibilities


CHAPTER 13: GROUPS, INTERESTS AND MOVEMENTS

1. Interest groups can be classified as

a) associational groups
b) institutional groups
c) communal groups
d) ethnic groups

2. Sectional groups are

a) groups set up to advance shared values, ideals or principles
b) groups that enjoy regular, privileged and usually institutionalized access to government
c) groups that exert indirect influence over government via public opinion
d) groups that exist to advance or protect the interests of their members

3. Who advanced the idea of 'countervailing powers'?

a) Dahl
b) Truman
c) Galbraith
d) Polsby

4. The corporatist model of group politics emphasises

a) the capacity of groups to defend the individual from government
b) the privileged position that certain groups enjoy in relation to government
c) 'unequal competition' between business and labour groups
d) the threat that group politics poses to the health of a market economy

5. Olson argued that people join interest groups

a) if their views are ignored by political parties
b) only if they are educated and possess political skills
c) only to secure 'public goods'
d) to make policy-making more transparent and publicly accountable

6. Interest groups are likely to be more significant if the political system is

a) based on monism and the power of a fused party-state apparatus
b) highly fragmented and decentralised
c) characterised by executive domination of the legislature
d) biased in favour of coalition government

7. Links between key legislators, executive agencies and interest groups in the USA have been called

a) 'triangulation'
b) 'peak' associations
c) 'tripartitism'
d) 'iron triangles'

8. A social movement is

a) a form of collective behaviour in which the motive to act springs largely from the attitudes and aspirations of members
b) a form of collective behaviour characterised by formal organization and card-carrying membership
c) the social or electoral base of a political party
d) a form of collective behaviour that is characterised by spontaneous mass action

9. 'New' social movements are characterised by

a) the attempt to mobilise oppressed or disadvantaged peoples
b) their postmaterial orientation
c) formal organisation and centralized structures
d) the widespread use of violence


CHAPTER 14: CONSTITUTIONS, THE LAW AND JUDICIARIES

1. A constitution, broadly, is

a) a collection of all the rules and laws operating in a political system
b) a formal guide to a political system used for educational purposes
c) a set of rules that seek to establish the duties, powers and functions of the institutions of government
d) a body of laws that define the relationship between the state and the individual

2. Codified constitutions enhance the importance of

a) judges
b) legislators
c) executives
d) peripheral bodies

3. Elective dictatorship is

a) the use of sham elections to legitimize dictatorial rule
b) a situation in which executive power is checked only by the need to win elections
c) prime ministerial domination of the executive branch of government
d) the establishment of dictatorial rule through constitutional means

4. From a liberal-democratic perspective, constitutions exist to

a) constrain government with a view to protecting individual liberty
b) establish a set of unifying values and goals for the political system
c) serve as an 'organizational chart' to help integrate immigrants into the political culture
d) ensure that states are recognised internationally

5. Constitutions 'work' when

a) constitutions are long-established and have the force of tradition
b) when the principles of the constitution are promoted by the educational system
c) when the constitution corresponds and is supported by the political culture
d) when the interests and values of dominant groups diverge from those of the larger society

6. The liberal theory of law suggests that

a) 'positive' law should be based on 'natural' law
b) law should enforce or uphold a sense of 'public morality'
c) strict laws and firm enforcement are the only ways of upholding order
d) there should be a strict separation between law and politics

7. Judicial independence is the principle that

a) judges should be political eunuchs who are devoid of political bias
b) the judiciary should be separate from other branches of government
c) judges should only hold office on condition of 'good behaviour'
d) judges should not consort with those upon whom they pass judgement

8. Judges tend to become policy-makers if

a) laws and constitutional principles are clearly framed
b) many constitutional rules have only a conventional basis
c) judicial independence is violated
d) there is a codified or 'written' constitution


CHAPTER 15: ASSEMBLIES

1. The role of the legislatures is to

a) implement law
b) interpret law
c) debate law
d) make law

2. Parliamentary systems of government are characterised by

a) a formal separation of powers
b) a 'fusion' of legislative and executive branches of government
c) a separately elected executive
d) a sovereign legislature

3. The doctrine of the separation of powers was advanced by

a) Montesquieu
b) Hobbes
c) Rousseau
d) Madison

4. Bicameralism is

a) the principle that constituencies should be of equal size
b) the theory that legislators should be full-time and professional politicians
c) the belief that legislative power should be fragmented through the creation of two chambers
d) the belief that legislative fragmentation is necessary in federal states

5. Committees have the advantage that

a) they encourage centralization and strengthen the position of a chairperson
b) they narrow the range of views taken into account in decision-making
c) they provide the opportunity for fuller, longer and more detailed discussion
d) they ensure that legislators' time is more fully utilized

6. The US Congress is an example of

a) an executive-dominated assembly
b) a policy-influencing assembly
c) assembly government
d) a policy-making assembly

7. The decline of assemblies can be explained by

a) growing divisions and disagreements within political parties
b) a general reduction in the scale of government intervention
c) the inability of the executive to provide leadership
d) the rise of interest-group and media power

8. Assemblies may be becoming more significant and independent because

a) assembly members are becoming better educated and better resourced
b) professional lobbyists increasingly focus their attention on assemblies
c) the pressure for bicameralism is growing
d) public respect for legislators is growing


CHAPTER 16: POLITICAL EXECUTIVES

1. The 'political' executive is equivalent to

a) all government bodies responsible for the implementation of laws and policy
b) the administrative machinery of the state
c) appointed and professional civil servants
d) the 'government of the day'

2. Heads of state always provide

a) popular leadership
b) ceremonial leadership
c) policy-making leadership
d) bureaucratic leadership

3. Political executives are well suited to crisis leadership because

a) they have the ability to take swift and decisive action
b) they are not constrained by democratic accountability
c) constitutional constraints do not apply to the executive
d) they stand above party politics

4. Presidential systems are characterised by

a) a sharing of power between president and cabinet
b) a division of the roles of head of state and head of government
c) a separation of powers between the executive and the legislature
d) an overlap of personnel between the executive and legislature

5. Who described the US system as 'separated institutions sharing power'?

a) Carter
b) Roosevelt
c) Neustadt
d) Crossman

6. Prime-ministerial power is based on

a) the prime minister's independence from party and government
b) the prime minister's position as party leader
c) the fact that prime ministers are separately elected
d) the prime minister's status as head of state

7. Cults of personality provide evidence that

a) charisma can be manufactured
b) leadership a personal gift
c) complex modern societies can be unified only through personal leadership
d) effective leaders must exhibit genuine moral authority

8. 'Transformational' leaders are

a) motivated by essentially pragmatic goals and considerations
b) a reflection of powerful social forces
c) reluctant to interfere in matters beyond his or her personal responsibility
d) able to embody a story that resonates with the broader public


CHAPTER 17: BUREAUCRACIES

1. Who portrayed bureaucracy as a rational-administrative system?

a) J. S. Mill
b) Weber
c) Burnham
d) Michels

2. Marxists have believed that the bureaucracy is

a) motivated essentially by career self-interest
b) an irrational and inefficient system
c) a reflection of the interests of dominant economic groups
d) always resistant to the entreaties of professional politicians

3. The New Right explains the inefficiency of bureaucracies by reference to the fact that

a) public bodies are not disciplined by the profit motive
b) poor pay means that of civil servants lack incentives
c) political control exercised by ministers is ineffective
d) bureaucrats are motivated by a public service ethos rather than money

4. The political significance of the bureaucracy stems largely from

a) its responsibility for the administration of government business
b) its role as the chief source of policy information available to government
c) its ability to articulate and sometimes aggregate interests
d) its role as a force for stability and continuity within the political system

5. Centrifugal pressures within a bureaucratic structure that strengthen the identity of individual agencies are called

a) institutional pluralism
b) 'reinventing government'
c) clientelism
d) departmentalism

6. The philosophy behind the 'new public management' is that

a) government should place its faith in a professionally trained and expert civil service
b) government spending should be reduced at all costs
c) government should 'steer' and not 'row'
d) hierarchies are more reliable than markets or networks

7. The doctrine of ministerial responsibility suggests that

a) ministers are responsible for the acts and omissions of their departments
b) ministers are responsible only for policy decisions they make personally
c) ministers are obliged to support official government policy in public
d) ministers' behaviour should be proper and morally correct

8. The advantage of a 'spoils system' is that

a) civil servants can retain their political neutrality
b) politicians can use counter-bureaucracies as mechanism of political control
c) corruption and maladministration are less common
d) senior bureaucrats are more loyal and committed to the elected government


CHAPTER 18: MILITARIES AND POLICE FORCES

1. The military may be used to prop a regime when

a) a state is planning an offensive war against other states
b) states wish to deter aggression by other states
c) political legitimacy has collapsed altogether
d) the military is large and powerful

2. The military is an effective interest group because

a) it is an 'insider' group represented on key policy-making bodies
b) politicians always want to associate themselves with military strength and military victories
c) the military is politically neutral
d) increasing defence spending is always electorally popular

3. Terrorism is

a) the arbitrary and amoral use of violence
b) the use of terror for furthering political ends
c) the use of terror for furthering religious ends
d) non-democratic or unconstitutional political action

4. Who suggested the 'objective/subjective' distinction between methods of controlling the military?

a) Nordlinger
b) Pickney
c) Aquino
d) Huntington

5. Military take-overs usually take place in

a) democratic states
b) economically backward states
c) ethnically divided states
d) industrializing states

6. The liberal perspective on policing regards the police as

a) a mechanism of political control that upholds state authority
b) entirely unnecessary because order arises 'from below' through cooperation and mutual respect
c) a tool of oppression that acts in the interests of the state rather than the people
d) a neutral body that maintains order by protecting individual rights and liberties

7. A police state is

a) a state in which the police have displaced civilian rulers
b) a state with totalitarian features
c) a state in which policing is arbitrary and indiscriminate
d) a state in which the police have assumed the role of the military

8. The danger of the public accountability of the state is that

a) it can result in police power being harnessed to the needs of the government of the day
b) it weakens public respect for the police and undermines the rule of law
c) it damages the operational efficiency of the police
d) it makes law and order an issue of political debate


CHAPTER 19: POLICY PROCESS AND SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

1. Policy is

a) what government says it will do
b) what government actually does
c) the impact of government on the larger society
d) all of the above

2. Rational-actor models of decision-making assume that

a) goals are selected on the basis of an ordering of individual preferences
b) the means most likely to secure a desired end are unclear
c) cost-benefit analysis is unreliable
d) pleasures and pains are different in kind and cannot be compared with one another

3. Who described incrementalism as the 'science of muddling through'?

a) Downs
b) Simon
c) Lindblom
d) Etzioni

4. Ethnocentrism is

a) the study of ethnic or national identities
b) the belief that ethnic identity should be valued in modern, multicultural societies
c) the tendency for ethnic identities to merge or become blurred
d) a bias that results from the application of values and theories from one culture in an attempt to understand other groups or peoples

5. Agenda setting is an important feature of

a) policy implementation
b) policy evaluation
c) policy initiation
d) policy formulation

6. The analysis of policy implementation considers

a) the policy 'outputs' of government
b) the intentions of policy-makers
c) the relationship between policy formulation and decision-making
d) the relationship between policy 'outputs' and the intentions of policy-makers

7. Citizenship is

a) a legal right to live and work in a state
b) a relationship between the individual and the state in which the two are bound together by reciprocal rights and duties
c) a 'bundle' of individual rights that ensure autonomy
d) a 'bundle' of social duties and moral responsibilities

8. Who linked democracy to freedom by defining freedom as 'being one's own master'?

a) Rousseau
b) Aristotle
c) Schumpeter
d) Plato