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60 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
When examining the postcommunist countries that were more successful at their economic transitions, we find that, compared to the less successful postcommunist countries, they |
had a stronger rule of law, which protected property rights and prevented corruption. |
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In many postcommunist countries, ________ has experienced a resurgence, in part because the governments have promoted it as a political tool to help legitimize the state. |
religion |
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While Marx argued that, under communism, differences in ________ would disappear, under communist rule they actually increased. |
ethnicity and nationalism |
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From 1989 to 1991, mass protests emerged across the communist world, toppling governments and leading to regime change. Which communist country had a mass protest, but one that failed to bring regime change? |
China |
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In the Soviet Union and in Mao’s China, what was the consequence of the state shifting from market forces to central planning? |
shortages in industry and agriculture, leading to massive famine |
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Communism envisioned complete economic, social, and political equality between men and women. The reality under communist rule was that |
while laws changed, society did not; traditional patterns of sexism persisted inside and outside the home. |
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Communism is an ideology that seeks to create human equality by eliminating |
private property and market forces. |
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Lenin led a communist revolution in Russia in 1917; he changed Marx’s original theory by |
arguing that revolution could be carried out in less developed countries if led by a “vanguard of the proletariat.” |
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Marx believed that history reflected a trend, not toward evolution, but rather toward revolution; at each major point in history, the existing order (the thesis) would be confronted by new technology, generating a challenge to this order (the antithesis). Ultimately, this challenge would culminate in a revolution, where the old order is overthrown and a new one put in place (the synthesis). What is this process known as? |
dialectical materialism |
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Marx was highly critical of ________, which he argued was used to legitimize poverty and inequality. |
religion |
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In China, Mao broke with Marxism and Leninism by |
focusing on the peasantry instead of the working class. |
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Marx predicted that, following the final revolution, the system of government that would emerge in the communist utopia would be a |
stateless anarchy. |
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Communist parties used co-optation to maintain control. This can been seen most clearly in the nomenklatura, which involved |
staffing jobs in the state, government, and society with people approved by the Party |
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The transition toward democracy has been more successful in Eastern Europe than in the former Soviet Union, partly because Eastern European countries |
adopted parliamentary systems, whereas the former Soviet Union favored strong presidencies. |
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For Marxists, the ________ is the economic system of a society, which is made up of the technology (the means of production) and class relations (the relations of production). |
base |
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Regarding economic transitions, what does marketization refer to? |
re-creating market forces of supply and demand |
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Marx and most other communists rejected liberal democracy because they claimed that it |
deluded the people into thinking they had a say in politics when, in fact, only the wealthy had control. |
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In many postcommunist countries, __________ was undeveloped, so establishing it was a significant democratic challenge. |
the rule of law |
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Literally meaning “restructuring,” ________ was one of Gorbachev’s major reforms during the 1980s. It included political and economic liberalization. |
perestroika |
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In communist parties, the ________ acts as a type of legislative body. |
Central Committee |
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Under ______, a leader distributes the benefits of the state to a small group of key supporters and holds the rest of the society in check by the use of force. |
patrimonialism |
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A scholar who argues that nondemocracy tends to emerge in countries with poor and uneducated populations fits best with which approach? |
modernization theory |
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Under what conditions is military rule most likely to emerge? |
At times when governments are struggling with legitimacy and stability, especially during periods of mass protest, the military may intervene to restore order. |
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Under bureaucratic authoritarianism, the military and the state bureaucracy believe that the problems of the country can be solved by |
rational, technical expertise rather than emotional ideology or public participation. |
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In communist systems such as Cuba or China, the government has created and controls a single labor union, but all independent unions are banned. This is an example of a state seeking to control its population by using |
corporatism |
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When we compare the types of government over the last 40 years, we find that the number of |
nondemocracies has dramatically declined. |
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Illiberal regimes are growing in prominence around the world. What sets them apart from other nondemocracies? |
They have some features of democracy, but with important qualifications. |
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Which of the following is a defining feature of nondemocratic regimes? |
The government is not constitutionally responsible to the public. |
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Which of the following examples can be described as totalitarian? |
the Soviet Union under Stalin |
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Co-optation is the appropriate term for the situation in which the state seeks to control its population by |
establishing a beneficial relationship with the people. |
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Totalitarian regimes possess a highly centralized state and a regime with a well-defined ideology that seeks to transform and fuse the institutions of state, society, and the economy. These systems emerge only rarely; of the following, the only regime that could truly be described as totalitarian is |
North Korea. |
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Cultural arguments hold that democracy requires a society that emphasizes |
individualism and secularism. |
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________ lacks a consistent ideological foundation; instead, it emphasizes hostility toward elites and established states institutions and the need for people to “take back” the state. |
Populism |
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nother commonly used term for nondemocratic rule is |
authoritarianism |
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Kleptocracy, or “rule by theft,” may be thought of as an extreme example of |
clientelism |
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Nondemocratic regimes often compel individuals by threatening harm to their lives and livelihoods. This is known as |
coercion |
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One-party systems like China prefer to use ________ as the primary mechanism to ensure compliance and support. |
co-optation |
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States with an abundance of oil or minerals often struggle with democratic development for a number of reasons. This is known as |
the “resource trap” theory. |
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In North Korea, the Kim Dynasty has been elevated to a quasi-religious status and citizens are expected to keep pictures of their leaders in a importance place in their home. This is an example of |
a personality cult. |
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Because the government is headed by a religious leader, some scholars have argued that Iran is best described as a |
theocracy |
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Federal systems like the United States and Germany tend to have ________ legislatures. |
bicameral |
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Democracy can be defined as political power exercised either indirectly or directly through |
participation, competition, and liberty. |
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________ are one of the most fundamental elements of a functioning democracy. They enact policy, establish political accountability, ensure political competition, and act as political symbols that allow voters to navigate and participate in what can be complex political processes. |
Political parties |
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One major advantage of ________ systems is that the executive has the ability to draw on a national mandate to create and enact legislation. |
presidential |
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Though they vary greatly from country to country in how they act and how much power they have, three key institutions in a democracy are |
the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. |
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This type of electoral system elects an individual candidate from those competing in that district; the candidate with the most votes wins. |
first past the post systems |
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In the development of democracy, which country gave us the Magna Carta, a document that laid the foundation for the idea of individual liberty? |
thirteenth-century England |
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Some scholars argue that ________ systems are more effective because the executive and legislature are fused, which increases legislative efficiency and reduces the possibility of deadlock. |
parliamentary |
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________ are individual rights regarding freedom that are created by the constitution and the political |
Civil liberties |
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In the development of democracy, what was the major contribution of ancient Rome? |
republicanism, or representation through elected officials |
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In a democracy, the executive has two roles: the ________ represents the nation at home and abroad, and the ________ deals with the everyday tasks of running the state. |
head of state; head of government |
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When a court considers the constitutionality of legislation without having a specific court case to refer to, this is called |
abstract review. |
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When each constituency elects only one member to the legislature (whether they win a plurality or a majority of votes), the system is called |
a single-member district (SMD). |
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The governmental institution in which national politics is considered and debated is the |
legislature |
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In the past, scholars of modernization theory argued that as societies developed economically, they would inevitably become more democratic. What was the reasoning behind their argument? |
As societies become more economically and socially sophisticated, citizens will desire more control over the state so they can protect their own interests. |
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Which electoral system tends to have the most political parties (and the ones with the most party discipline)? |
proportional representation |
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In parliamentary systems, |
legislatures and judiciaries are much weaker than the executive, as the prime minister is the major driver of policy. |
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Most political science scholars would reject ________ explanations for why a country has failed to become a democracy; not only is this approach deterministic, it has a weak empirical record. |
cultural |
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Which of the following organizations would be part of a country’s civil society? |
sports teams |
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In the past, some scholars believed that Asia was not amendable to democratization. What was their primary explanation for what we now know is an incorrect assumption? |
Cultural: they argued that Confucianism and its deference to authority and emphasis on hierarchy contradicted core democratic values. |