Regimes, Rules, & Legitimacy
Following its recent constitutional changes and extended term limits for the executive, Russia is best classified by comparative political scientists as which type of regime?
What is an Authoritarian regime (or Hybrid/Illiberal regime)?
In recent British General Elections, the Labour and Conservative parties won the vast majority of seats despite smaller parties getting significant portions of the vote. Which electoral system causes this disproportionate outcome?
What is First-Past-the-Post (or Single-Member District Plurality)?
The "Woman, Life, Freedom" protest movement triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini and the morality police, sparked nation-wide civil society demonstrations in what nation?
What is Iran?
Both Nigeria and Iran depend heavily on oil exports for national government revenue. What term describes a state that derives a significant portion of its revenue from renting natural resources to foreign entities?
What is a Rentier State?
Nigeria’s politics are deeply divided along ethnic and religious lines, primarily between the predominantly Muslim North and the predominantly Christian South. What term describes social divisions that structure political conflict?
What is a Political Cleavage?
When the British Prime Minister calls a vote of no confidence or dissolves Parliament, this reflects the lack of formal separation between the executive and legislative branches, which is a defining feature of this type of government system.
What is a Parliamentary system?
In 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum was elected President of Mexico. Her election made global headlines not only because she is the first female president of Mexico, but also because she belongs to Morena, illustrating a democratic transfer of power in a system with strict term limits known as sexenio. How many years is one Mexican presidential term?
A) 4 years
B) 6 years
C) 8 years
What is 6 years?
Mass public protests are rare due to state surveillance, but widespread non-violent demonstrations occurred against the government's strict "Zero-COVID" lock-down policies in what country?
What is China?
Because rentier states generate massive income directly from resource exports rather than taxing their citizens, they often suffer from a lack of political accountability summarized by the phrase "No taxation without ____."
What is Representation?
The UK has undergone a political process where powers were transferred from the central government in London to regional parliaments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. What is this process called?
What is Devolution?
Iran's political system derives its primary source of legitimacy from religious authority and Islamic law, making it a classic example of this regime type.
What is a Theocracy?
Nigeria uses a two-round presidential election system requiring the winner to receive a majority of the national vote PLUS at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of the states. Why did constitution-writers include this specific geographic requirement?
What is to ensure the president has broad cross-regional support (and prevent a purely ethnic/regional candidate from winning)?
In Nigeria, the #EndSARS movement mobilized youth across urban centers. What was the main demand of these protests?
What is police reform?
Mexico’s economy is deeply integrated with the United States and Canada through the USMCA (formerly NAFTA), making it a prime example of economic ____.
What is Globalization (or Free Trade Integration)?
In China, the central government has faced intense international scrutiny over its repressive security policies and assimilation camps targeting which Muslim ethnic minority group in Xinjiang?
What are the Uyghurs?
China’s Communist Party (CCP) maintains political dominance without competitive national elections primarily by relying on which source of regime legitimacy?
A) Traditional legitimacy based on hereditary dynastic succession
B) Rational-legal legitimacy based on strict constitutional checks and balances
C) Economic legitimacy driven by sustained growth and poverty reduction
What is C) Economic legitimacy driven by sustained growth and poverty reduction?
Iran's Guardian Council frequently disqualifies hundreds of reformist candidates prior to presidential and parliamentary elections. This practice is an example of:
A) Electoral management by an independent judicial tribunal
B) Executive vetting by a sovereign monarch
C) Authoritarian electoral manipulation to limit political contestation
What is C) Authoritarian electoral manipulation to limit political contestation?
When the UK government restricts public assembly rights or when climate activists (like Just Stop Oil) face criminal charges, political scientists analyze the tension between state security and:
A) Democratic consolidation
B) Civil liberties
C) Devolution of power
What are civil liberties?
China's "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) is a global infrastructure project designed to expand Chinese economic influence across Asia, Africa, and Europe. In comparative politics, this is an example of China using economic power to increase its:
A) Supranational sovereignty
B) Soft power and international leverage
C) Internal devolution
What is B) Soft power and international leverage?
In AP Comp Gov, when multiple social identity divisions (e.g., region, religion, ethnicity, and class) reinforce one another rather than overlap, they are known as:
A) Coinciding (or Coincidental) cleavages
B) Cross-cutting cleavages
C) Pluralist cleavages
What is A) Coinciding cleavages?
Mexico’s transition away from 71 years of single-party dominance under the PRI in 2000 represents a shift in regime rather than just government because it involved:
A) A violent military coup that rewrote the federal constitution
B) A fundamental change in the rules and norms governing political competition and power transfer
C) The complete abolition of the federal system in favor of a unitary state
What is B) A fundamental change in the rules and norms governing political competition and power transfer?
Russia’s presidential elections utilize a two-round runoff system on paper, yet Vladimir Putin consistently wins in the first round with overwhelming majorities. Comparative political scientists categorize modern Russia as a "competitive authoritarian" regime because:
A) Formal democratic institutions exist, but state control over media and opposition suppression prevents a level playing field
B) Elections have been officially abolished by executive decree
C) Voting is restricted exclusively to members of the ruling United Russia party
What is A) Formal democratic institutions exist, but state control over media and opposition suppression prevents a level playing field?
In Russia, the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison camp highlighted the state's strategy toward political opposition. This state practice of controlling or eliminating independent civil society organizations is known as...
A) Democratic corporatism
B) State corporatism
C) Pluralist interest articulation
What is state corporatism?
Since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has faced unprecedented Western trade sanctions, forcing Moscow to pivot its state-dominated energy exports primarily toward which two Asian markets?
A) Japan and South Korea
B) China and India
C) Vietnam and Indonesia
What is B) China and India?
Following Brexit, Northern Ireland became a focal point in British politics because keeping an open border with the Republic of Ireland while leaving the EU trade block threatened the stability of the 1998 peace agreement known as:
A) The Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement)
B) The Treaty of Maastricht
C) The Magna Carta
What is A) The Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement)?