Governing Institutions
Electoral Systems
Political Parties and Party Systems
Civil Society
Country Concept Questions
100

a clear set of rules where government officials are subject to the same laws and penalties as citizens

What is rule of law?

100
Electoral system in which each geographic district elects a single representative to a legislature.
What is single-member district (SMD)?
100
Party system in which multiple parties and free and fair elections exist, but one party wins every election and governs continuously.
What is a dominant-party system?
100

study and theory related to the impact of the legacy of imperialism on countries once subject to foreign rule

what is post colonialism ?

100

Areas in China with freer trade and less censorship than most of country by special legal arrangement  (concept not specific municipalities) 

What are Special Economic Zones? 

200
Division of constitutionally-assigned power to national and subnational governments, with different subnational governments having distinct relationships with and rights in relation to the national government.
What is an asymmetrical federal system?
200
Electoral system in which individual candidates are elected in a single-member districts; the candidate with the most votes, but not necessarily a majority, wins.
What is "first past the post" (FPTP)?
200

A situation where two large parties win the most votes, but typically neither gains a majority. Thus, one of them has to form an alliance with a smaller party to create a legislative majority.

What is coalition government?

200

These have a loosely-defined organizational structure and represent people who have been outside the bounds of formal institutions; they seek major socioeconomic or political changes to the status quo.

What are social movements?

200

How are members of the Federation Council chosen in Russia? (HINT: answer for EACH representative category) 

What is 

1 appointed by the regional governor and confirmed by the regional legislature 

1 appointed by the regional legislature.

300

Perceived effectiveness or functionality of a government in administering the affairs of a state

political efficacy

300
The receipt of the most votes, but not a majority.
What is plurality?
300

Major disadvantage of proportional systems?

In PR systems citizens do not have a representative in their district who can provide them with constituent services; people only elect party not the actual representative; more people in legislature may result in longer legislative process

300

A system in which many groups exist to represent particular interests and the government remains officially neutral among them.

What is interest-group pluralism? or

What is pluralism? 

300

Nigerian social movements advocating land rights and increased government services to communities along the Niger River who have been ravaged by oil procurement and refineries- both domestic and foreign

What is MOSOP or MEND?

400

political institutions with international recognition that govern a population in a territory. 

state

400

Electoral system in which each party presents a ranked list of candidates for all the seats in the legislature; voters can see the list and know who the "top" candidates are, but they vote for the party. Each party is awarded a number of seats based on their percentage of the total vote; they then award seats based on the ranked list.

What is proportional representation?

400

Why do authoritarian regimes allow some civil society groups to exist while limiting others?

legitimacy; some groups may promote nationalism and patriotism; external legitimacy (alignment with global values)

400

Corporatist States

Russia - China - Iran

400
The most controversial role of the Guardian Council in Iran 

What is vetting candidates for President and Parliament?

500

Identify TWO major difference between illiberal and liberal democracies.

free, fair elections - protections for civil liberties - rule of law; independent judiciary; 

500

Explain the difference in government structure between the U.K and Mexico. Be sure to mention Executive terms, Structure of legislature, and electoral system

Mexico is SMPD and proportional ; UK is SMPD only 

Mexico is bicameral; UK is unicameral 

Mexico is federal ; UK is unitary 

unlimited executive terms (UK); Sexeno in Mexico 

500

This is the party led by long time Russian president, Vladimir Putin

What is Trick Question! 

Putin is not a member of ANY party

(but United Russia endorses him)

500

All the ways individuals come to understand and think about government , national identity and politics 

What is political socialization ?

500

This is the name for the government agency tasked with securing fairness in Mexican Elections? 

What is the INE - Instituto Nacional Electoal

(National Electoral Institute)

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