Posc 339 Test 1

Front 1

________ was a major political thinker and is often cited as the first modern political scientist; he analyzed different political systems and made generalizations about which systems experienced success or failure.

Back 1

Niccolò Machiavelli

Front 2

This approach to political science assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits of each choice in order to maximize their benefits.

Back 2

rational choice

Front 3

When an apparent relationship exists between two or more variables, we call it

Back 3

correlation

Front 4

Comparative politics is the study

Back 4

and comparison of domestic politics across countries.

Front 5

The ability to influence others or impose one’s will on them is called

Back 5

power

Front 6

In the study of comparative politics, what is the primary reason why we compare countries?

Back 6

It helps us make and test arguments about cause and effect by drawing evidence across space and time.

Front 7

Central to nearly all debates in politics, power, and debates of justice is the tension between

Back 7

freedom and equality.

Front 8

In comparative research, we might run into trouble if the specific relationship of cause and effect cannot be made clear; sometimes, the variables may be both cause and effect in a relationship with one another. This is known as

Back 8

endogeneity

Front 9

Institutions include organizations or activities that are largely self-perpetuating and valued for their own sake. When institutions create rules, we follow them largely because

Back 9

we see them as a legitimate means to structure society’s relationships.

Front 10

________ reasoning starts from a specific case or evidence to generate hypotheses.

Back 10

Inductive

Front 11

We often date state sovereignty as emerging during ________, because this marked the period when political authority was placed over spiritual power within each territory.

Back 11

the Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

Front 12

States that possess both high capacity and low autonomy (like the United States) may also risk having

Back 12

less adaptability, as they may be unable to develop new policies and respond to new challenges.

Front 13

Which of the following is the least institutionalized concept – in other words, the one most prone to change?

Back 13

government

Front 14

According to Weber, a ________ is an organization that maintains a monopoly of violence over a territory.

Back 14

state

Front 15

What type of legitimacy depends on the force of ideas embodied by an individual leader?

Back 15

charismatic

Front 16

This is the fundamental rules and norms of politics in a country. It embodies the long-term goals of freedom and equality as well as determining where power should reside and how it is used.

Back 16

regime

Front 17

Recent empirical research regarding the rise of the state suggests that

Back 17

states evolved out of tribal battles over territory and resources.

Front 18

A key characteristic that defines a state, this is the ability of the state to carry out actions or policies within their territory independently from external actors or internal rivals.

Back 18

sovereignty

Front 19

This philosopher believed that individuals created states as a way to escape from a brutal anarchy.

Back 19

Thomas Hobbes

Front 20

To successfully describe and compare the complexity of state power, political scientists go beyond classifying states as strong, weak, or failed, and instead evaluate them based on

Back 20

capacity and autonomy.

Front 21

One advantage of the state was the ability to apply technological innovations. Rulers embraced technological advancement because

Back 21

it was a means to expand a state’s economic and military power.

Front 22

Some countries – like Russia, India, and Spain – give certain regions within their country more powers than others. This system is known as

Back 22

asymmetric federalism.

Front 23

What do political scientists mean when we say that Pakistan’s government may be “irrational”?

Back 23

Because the government has failed to centralize authority, different segments of the state pursue contradictory and even competing goals.

Front 24

Countries like France, Japan, and China concentrate their power in the national government, and are thus examples of

Back 24

unitary states.

Front 25

Modern states adopted property rights because these laws

Back 25

rewarded individual initiative and grew economies faster than feudal structures.

Front 26

We expect “strong” states to carry out basic tasks such as defending territory, making and enforcing rules, collecting taxes, and managing the economy. The ability of the state to wield power to carry out these tasks is called

Back 26

capacity

Front 27

In the United States, presidents who leave office generally cease to play any significant role in policy making. After all, it is not the individual leaders who are important, but the office they hold. This would be an example of what type of legitimacy in action?

Back 27

rational-legal

Front 28

The modern state and its economic and infrastructure developments allowed people to travel more freely, necessitating printed documents to help communicate over larger territories. This would help give rise to

Back 28

an increasing sense of national identity.

Front 29

Former colonies threw off many aspects of colonial rule, but they have kept the essential elements of the state. In what ways is the experience of new states in former colonies fundamentally different than the experiences of older states?

Back 29

They are seeking to develop state institutions with fewer resources and in a shorter time frame than early states did.

Front 30

While traditionally a unitary state, the United Kingdom has increasingly “sent down” power to its regional governments using a process known as

Back 30

devolution

Front 31

In the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, radicals would seek to transform or overthrow the current capitalist democratic order, perhaps replacing it with a system of greater social and economic equality. In China, the political attitude of people with a similar policy goal would probably be best described as

Back 31

reactionary

Front 32

Which of the following is true regarding ethnicity?

Back 32

There is no “master list” of differences that automatically define one group as ethnically different from another.

Front 33

Patriotism is pride in one’s

Back 33

state

Front 34

An ideology that seeks to unite religion with the state is called

Back 34

fundamentalism

Front 35

________ rejects the ideas of individual freedom and equality, instead arguing that hierarchies of superior and inferior are inherent in all human relationships.

Back 35

Fascism

Front 36

The nation-state is a state that claims to represent one dominant people and emphasizes the achievement of that one nation over others. Which European country was the first nation-state, that is, the first state to use intense nationalistic sentiment to unify and mobilize its population?

Back 36

Napoleonic France

Front 37

To explain why ethnic and nationalist conflicts occur, a societal explanation would emphasize that it is due to

Back 37

the number of ethnic groups in the society and their degree of integration or polarization

Front 38

The key difference between communism and social democracy (or socialism) is that

Back 38

both theories strive for economic equality, but socialism accepts private ownership and market forces.

Front 39

This term describes a person’s view on how fast and by what method politics should change in a society.

Back 39

political attitude

Front 40

Pride in one’s people and the belief that they have their own sovereign destiny that is separate from others is called

Back 40

nationalism

Front 41

The major difference between radicals and liberals is that

Back 41

radicals believe in dramatic change in the current political order; liberals believe in change, but within existing political structures.

Front 42

A country’s ________ determines which ideologies dominate a country’s political regime.

Back 42

political culture

Front 43

Regarding political ideology, ________ places a high priority on individual rights and freedoms and favors a limited state role in society and the economy.

Back 43

liberalism

Front 44

Which of the following ideologies would be labeled as a “conservative” political attitude in North America?

Back 44

liberalism

Front 45

The key difference between ethnic conflict and national conflict is that ethnic conflict

Back 45

occurs between ethnic groups to achieve political or economic goals; national conflict involves one or more groups striving for sovereignty.

Front 46

Regarding political attitudes, a conservative is someone who

Back 46

is skeptical of change and supports maintaining the existing order.

Front 47

Which of the following is true regarding citizenship?

Back 47

It is a purely political identity, defining an individual’s relationship with the state.

Front 48

________ is a complex human organization; it is a collection of people bound by shared institutions that define how human relations should be conducted.

Back 48

Society

Front 49

According to Inglehart’s research from the World Values Survey, the primary reason the Scandinavian countries score so highly on “secular-rational” values is that

Back 49

a cultural heritage of Protestantism continues to shape their societal values.

Front 50

To try to deal with its extreme diversity, India has created a system of asymmetric federalism, which has devolved power differently across its states. What has been one consequence of this decision?

Back 50

It has created more opportunities for corruption.