Unit Examination 2: Study Guide
 

General Information

1. This exam will be closed book and notes. It will organized in much the same way as the first unit exam, including both short answer questions and an essay question.

 
2. You must submit a blank blue book (available at the bookstore) during the review session in order to take the exam.  Please put your name on the book in pencil before handing it in.

 
3. Articles assigned out of the Economist and the discussion of current events in class are fair game short answer questions.

Key Terms and Concepts.. The following are the sorts of terms and concepts you are expected to be familiar with:
 

back-bencher (GB)  Bundesrat (GER)  Bundestag (GER)  cabinet  catch-all party collective responsibility (GB)  constitution corporatism Diet (JPN) Duma (RUS) Duverger's Law electoral systems: SMDP/MMDP/PR/additional member governments: presidential/parliamentary  head of state/government  interest group interest group pluralism intra party factions (JPN) iron triangle

judicial review koenkai (JPN)  legislature: bicameral, unicameral materialist/post-materialist values median voter theorem  nested political relationships  no-confidence vote  parliamentary sovereignty (GB)  parliamentary coalition  party systems: one, two, multiple  party discipline  political institution public policy realignment separation of powers (US)  shadow cabinet (GB) social movement taxation: progressive, regressive, flat

Comparative Issues

You should be familiar enough with the political institutions (constitution, party system, electoral system, structure and powers of the various branches of government, extent of federalism) to be able to make comparisons between our six case study polities.  You should also be familiar the major parties (see Table 3.3 in Hauss).
 

Essay Questions

One of the following questions will appear on the examination.

1. It is often asserted that a pattern exists in the relationship between the number of parties in a particular polity and the type of electoral system it uses. What is the pattern? What is the underlying theoretical explanation? How might we account for countries that do not follow the pattern exactly, such as Great Britain or Nigeria?

 
2. "Political parties are firmly rooted in political culture." Comment on the assertion and provide evidence from our case countries and your own research.
   
   
3. Sven Steinmo's comparative analysis of taxation in the United States, Great Britain, and Sweden argues that public policies are nested within political institutions.  Demonstrate this using examples from at least two of the three cases Steinmo uses.

 
4. The aging, authoritarian leader of the African republic of Equitoria has decided he wants to introduce real democracy before he dies.  He has proposed restoring the 1960 constitution left behind by the French colonial administrators that calls for a unicameral legislature with representatives elected by proportional representation.  Before going public with his plan, the president has asked you for your comments.  He is very concerned that Equitoria's political institutions both reflect and bring stability to the polity's diverse political culture.  Equitoria has three major ethnic groups, each with about 25 percent of the population, plus two others of about 12 percent.  The population is also about evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.  Conflicts between the various groups has not been uncommon, especially recently, and the military has threatened to step in if greater democracy brings either political paralysis or civil conflict.  Write a memo to the president that comments on his proposals with respect to the constitution and the electoral system.