Society
Political Institutions
Political Culture & Participation
Electoral Systems & Civil Society
Econ. Changes & Development
100

The Chinese hukou system, a form of internal migration control, restricts access to public services and reinforces this socio-political divide, which is also a cleavage shared with Russia.

 What is the rural-urban divide/cleavage?

100

This is the formal process through which the UK Parliament can remove a sitting Prime Minister, though it requires the support of a majority in the House of Commons.

What is a vote of no confidence?

100

In this country, a political culture of skepticism and distrust towards the state has led to widespread apathy, compounded by allegations of electoral fraud and media manipulation, while in this other country, despite a history of authoritarianism, the political culture is characterized by strong civic engagement, particularly in grassroots movements and civil society activism.

What is Russia and Mexico?

100

In this country, the unicameral leg. uses an indirect election system, where representatives are selected through a combination of elected local officials and party appointments, but no competitive elections are held at the national level, while in this other country, regional representatives in the National Assembly are selected through first-past-the-post elections, with significant ethnic and regional cleavages influencing outcomes.

What are China and Nigeria?

100

After the global financial crisis of 2008, the UK introduced a series of reforms, which led to cuts in government spending in public services. This economic approach is known as what?

What are austerity measures?

200

This cleavage is particularly between communities in Northern Ireland, contributing to longstanding political tensions and the Good Friday Agreement that aimed to resolve sectarian conflicts.

What is the religious cleavage in the UK?

200

This Iranian body oversees elections and ensures that they align with Islamic principles and state guidelines, often disqualifying candidates based on their political or religious views.

BONUS: How are the representatives picked?

What is the Guardian Council?

BONUS: 6 lawyers nominated by the Chief Justice & Majlis approved, and 6 clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader .

200

This internet censorship system in China restricts access to foreign websites and monitors online activity, blocking popular platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. It is an integral part of the Chinese government’s strategy to maintain control over public discourse, limit exposure to external influences, and promote state-approved information within the country.

What is the Great Firewall of China?

200

This system, involving patronage and loyalty, has contributed to corruption and inefficiency in Nigerian politics.

What is prebendalism?

200

This term describes how Nigeria’s oil wealth has contributed to corruption, underdevelopment, and conflict, particularly in the Niger Delta.

What is the resource curse/trap?

300

Many of Russia’s wealthiest business elites maintain their fortunes with Kremlin approval in exchange for loyalty, a system often called this.

What is patron-clientelism?

300

2 Answers: Members of these two chambers of legislature cannot be reelected to consecutive terms (which are 3 and 6 years)

Mexico's Chamber of Deputies & Senate

300

This movement, starting in 1994, was led by indigenous rebels in Chiapas and protested economic marginalization.

What is the Zapatista uprising (EZLN)?

300

This type of electoral system used in the UK is designed to favor larger political parties and is known for producing a “winner-takes-all” outcome in single-member constituencies.

What is First Past The Post (FPTP)?

300

These zones were created in coastal regions to attract foreign investment and test market reforms.

What are Special Economic Zones (SEZs)?

400

This country experiences cleavages primarily along ethnic and religious lines, with tensions between the Shia majority and Sunni minority, while in this other country, cleavages are more defined by ethnicity and region, with political and social divisions primarily between the Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo groups, and between north and south.

What is Iran (Shia-Sunni cleavage) and Nigeria (ethnic and regional cleavages)?

400

China’s head of state, currently Xi Jinping, also holds this more powerful position within the Communist Party.

What is the General Secretary of the CCP?

400

This form of political engagement, which involves citizens directly voting on policies or issues rather than just representatives, was used in the 2016 vote on the UK's membership in the European Union.

What is a referendum?

400

Russia uses this kind of electoral system for its State Duma elections, with 225 seats elected by party-list PR and 225 by single-member districts. *Mexico, Nigeria, and Iran do too

What is a mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system?

400

These 1980s reforms emphasized privatization, deregulation, and free trade to address Mexico’s debt crisis.

What are neoliberal reforms?

500

This Nigerian environmental activist and writer, a key leader of MOSOP, was executed in 1995 after protesting the environmental damage caused by Shell’s oil operations in the Niger Delta.

Who is Ken Saro-Wiwa?

500

Despite being an elected institution, this clerical body with the power to select and dismiss the Supreme Leader has its members vetted by the Guardian Council, thereby compromising its independence.

What is the Assembly of Experts?

500

This 2009 Iranian event, sparked by allegations of election fraud over Ahmadinejad's presidency, saw widespread protests and calls for greater democracy and reform, though it was heavily suppressed by the government.

*BONUS: Which former prime minister and reformist leader lost, and what did the government do to him?

What is the Green (/Wave) Movement?

Mir-Hossein Mousavi & HOUSE ARREST

500

In this country’s presidential elections, candidates must secure both an absolute majority of the national vote and at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of the 36 states, ensuring both national and regional support. This system aims to prevent regional dominance and encourage broad electoral appeal across the country’s diverse regions.

What is Nigeria’s two-round system/run-off with geographic distribution requirements?

500

This Russian president implemented “shock therapy” in the 1990s—a rapid transition from a command to a market economy—which resulted in mass privatization, economic collapse, and the rise of powerful oligarchs.

Who is Boris Yeltsin?

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