Question 1

A THEORIST ARGUES THAT WITHOUT A STRONG SOVEREIGN, LIFE FALLS INTO A WAR OF ALL AGAINST ALL, SO PEOPLE SHOULD SURRENDER MOST OF THEIR LIBERTIES FOR SECURITY. WHOSE POSITION IS THIS?

Accepted Answer

THOMAS HOBBES. Hobbes held that the natural condition of humans is constant conflict, so only a powerful sovereign can secure peace. Locke and Rousseau start from milder assumptions, and Mill defended individual liberty against state interference.

Question 2

A GOVERNMENT SEIZES CITIZENS' PROPERTY WITHOUT LAW OR CONSENT. ON LOCKE'S ACCOUNT, WHAT FOLLOWS FROM THIS?

Accepted Answer

THE GOVERNMENT LOSES ITS LEGITIMACY AND THE PEOPLE MAY REPLACE IT. For Locke, government exists to protect life, liberty and property. A government that violates those rights breaks the trust it was given, so the governed may replace it. Obedience regardless of conduct is Hobbes's view, not Locke's.

Question 3

A LEGISLATURE PASSES A LAW BY TALLYING EVERYONE'S SELF-INTERESTED PREFERENCES, WITH EACH PERSON VOTING FOR WHAT BENEFITS THEM. IN ROUSSEAU'S TERMS, THE RESULT IS BEST DESCRIBED AS...

Accepted Answer

THE WILL OF ALL, WHICH IS NOT THE GENERAL WILL. Rousseau separated the will of all, an aggregate of private interests, from the general will, which aims at the common good. A majority of selfish preferences can therefore miss the general will entirely.

Question 4

A PRESIDENT VETOES A BILL AND CONGRESS OVERRIDES THE VETO WITH TWO-THIRDS VOTES IN BOTH CHAMBERS. WHICH PRINCIPLE IS AT WORK?

Accepted Answer

CHECKS AND BALANCES. Each branch holds a power that can limit another. The executive checks the legislature with a veto and the legislature checks the executive by overriding it. Federalism concerns national versus state power, not relations between branches.

Question 5

A COUNTRY'S CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CAN ABOLISH OR REDRAW REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS WHENEVER IT CHOOSES, BECAUSE REGIONS HOLD ONLY POWERS THE CENTRE DELEGATES. THE COUNTRY IS BEST DESCRIBED AS...

Accepted Answer

A UNITARY STATE. In a unitary state, sovereignty rests with the central government and regional bodies exist at its discretion. In a federation, regional governments hold constitutionally protected powers the centre cannot simply remove.

Question 6

A COUNTRY ELECTS ONE REPRESENTATIVE PER DISTRICT, AND THE CANDIDATE WITH THE MOST VOTES WINS. WHAT PARTY SYSTEM DOES DUVERGER'S LAW PREDICT OVER TIME?

Accepted Answer

A SYSTEM DOMINATED BY TWO MAJOR PARTIES. Under single-member plurality rules, voters avoid wasting votes on likely losers and small parties struggle, so competition tends to consolidate around two parties. Proportional systems tend to sustain more.

Question 7

FOLLOWERS OBEY A LEADER MAINLY BECAUSE THEY ADMIRE THE LEADER'S EXCEPTIONAL PERSONAL QUALITIES, NOT BECAUSE OF TRADITION OR WRITTEN RULES. WHICH OF WEBER'S TYPES OF AUTHORITY IS THIS?

Accepted Answer

CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY. Weber distinguished traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority. Charismatic authority rests on devotion to a person's perceived extraordinary qualities. Coercive authority is not one of his three types.

Question 8

A GOVERNMENT BANS A PRIVATE, HARMLESS HABIT BECAUSE MOST CITIZENS DISAPPROVE OF IT. WHICH THINKER'S HARM PRINCIPLE WOULD OBJECT?

Accepted Answer

JOHN STUART MILL. Mill argued that power may be used against an individual against their will only to prevent harm to others. Disapproval by the majority is not harm, so the ban fails his test.

Question 9

A STATE REFUSES A TREATY BECAUSE IT FEARS A RIVAL WOULD GAIN MORE POWER FROM IT, ASSUMING NO AUTHORITY SITS ABOVE STATES TO ENFORCE THE DEAL. WHICH INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY BEST EXPLAINS THIS?

Accepted Answer

REALISM. Realists assume an anarchic system in which states prioritise security and relative power, so they worry about a rival's relative gains. Liberal institutionalists stress that institutions can make cooperation easier.

Question 10

A NEIGHBOURHOOD BENEFITS FROM A CLEAN PARK, BUT EACH RESIDENT HOPES OTHERS WILL PAY FOR ITS UPKEEP. WHAT PROBLEM DOES THIS ILLUSTRATE?

Accepted Answer

THE FREE RIDER PROBLEM. Because nobody can be excluded from a public good, individuals gain by letting others pay. Olson showed that this weakens collective action, especially in large groups. If everyone reasons this way the park goes unfunded.

Question 11

A LAW REMOVES ALL LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT PEOPLE MAY SAY IN PUBLIC. WHICH KIND OF LIBERTY, IN ISAIAH BERLIN'S TERMS, DOES IT EXPAND?

Accepted Answer

NEGATIVE LIBERTY. Berlin defined negative liberty as freedom from interference by others, including the state. Positive liberty concerns having the capacity and self-mastery to act on one's own purposes.

Question 12

A COUNTRY GAINS INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE BECAUSE OTHER NATIONS ADMIRE ITS CULTURE AND VALUES, NOT BECAUSE OF MILITARY FORCE OR PAYMENTS. WHAT DID JOSEPH NYE CALL THIS?

Accepted Answer

SOFT POWER. Nye defined soft power as the ability to shape others' preferences through attraction rather than coercion or payment. Hard power uses force or economic inducement.

Question 13

PEOPLE CHOOSE THE RULES OF THEIR SOCIETY WITHOUT KNOWING THEIR OWN CLASS, TALENTS OR RACE. WHICH THINKER DEVISED THIS THOUGHT EXPERIMENT AND WHAT IS IT CALLED?

Accepted Answer

RAWLS, THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE. Rawls asks us to choose principles of justice from behind a veil of ignorance in the original position. Because no one knows their own place, they should choose rules that are fair to everyone.

Question 14

REALISTS ASSUME THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM IS ___ BECAUSE NO AUTHORITY SITS ABOVE STATES.

Accepted Answer

ANARCHIC. Anarchic here means lacking a central authority above states, not chaotic. This assumption is why realists expect states to rely on self-help for security.

Question 15

SYSTEMS THAT ALLOCATE SEATS IN LINE WITH EACH PARTY'S SHARE OF THE VOTE USE ___ REPRESENTATION.

Accepted Answer

PROPORTIONAL. Proportional systems make seat shares roughly match vote shares, which usually lets more parties win seats than plurality rules do.

Question 16

DRAWING DISTRICT BOUNDARIES TO GIVE ONE PARTY AN ADVANTAGE IS CALLED ___.

Accepted Answer

GERRYMANDERING. Gerrymandering manipulates district lines, often by packing opponents into a few districts or cracking them across many, so that seats do not reflect votes.

Question 17

IN A ___ SYSTEM, THE EXECUTIVE IS DRAWN FROM THE LEGISLATURE AND MUST KEEP ITS SUPPORT TO STAY IN OFFICE.

Accepted Answer

PARLIAMENTARY. In parliamentary systems the government depends on legislative confidence and can fall on a vote of no confidence. In presidential systems the executive is elected separately.

Question 18

A REGIME WHERE POWER IS CONCENTRATED IN ONE LEADER OR PARTY WITHOUT FREE, COMPETITIVE ELECTIONS IS ___.

Accepted Answer

AUTHORITARIAN. Authoritarian regimes restrict political competition and limit accountability. Democracies differ because voters can remove leaders through fair elections.

Question 19

MONTESQUIEU ARGUED THAT LIBERTY IS BEST PROTECTED WHEN POWER IS SPLIT INTO EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE AND ___ BRANCHES.

Accepted Answer

JUDICIAL. In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu argued that combining these powers in one body invites tyranny, so each should be held by a separate branch.

Question 20

WHEN VOTERS PUNISH A GOVERNING PARTY AT THE POLLS FOR A FAILED POLICY, ELECTIONS ARE PROMOTING ___.

Accepted Answer

ACCOUNTABILITY. Accountability means officials answer to those they govern and can be removed. The prospect of losing office gives leaders an incentive to respond to voters.

Question 21

THE IDEA THAT GOVERNMENT LEGITIMACY RESTS ON THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED IS THE CORE OF ___ CONTRACT THEORY.

Accepted Answer

SOCIAL. Social contract theorists such as Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau justify political authority by an agreement among individuals. They differ on its terms and on when it can be broken.

Key Concepts and Thinkers